Philippines temporarily blocks gaming app used by suspect in deadly school shooting

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities said Tuesday they will temporarily block an online gaming app that one of two students blamed for a deadly school shooting has avidly used, to assess whether it played a role in fostering such violence.

Three students were killed and 20 others were wounded when the two suspects, aged 14 and 15 and armed with a handgun each, opened fire Monday at the San Jose National High School in central Tacloban city.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said its decision to block Gorebox was prompted by an ongoing police investigation which showed that one suspect was an avid user of the app, adding that this will allow authorities to determine “whether the platform played any role in the actions of the suspects.”

The decision would be enforced starting Tuesday, undersecretary Aboy Paraiso of the cybercrime center said in a statement.

“We cannot ignore possible online influences that may have contributed to this tragic incident,” Paraiso said, without specifying how long the app will be blocked.

The gaming app was launched in 2023 and has been marketed as “a physics-driven sandbox game where creativity meets unrestrained destruction,” the center said.

Paraiso did not say what action might be taken if a government assessment concludes that the app promotes violence among users.

“Beyond this temporary ban, we are reinforcing our monitoring efforts to identify online spaces that may pose risks to young users and to ensure that appropriate interventions are made immediately,” Paraiso said. “Our priority is the safety and well-being of Filipino children exposed to the internet.”

Crimes involving the use of firearms are prevalent in the Philippines, partly due to the proliferation of unlicensed firearms, but school shootings are relatively rare.

Regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jason Capoy said the suspects have told investigators they staged the attack to retaliate for being bullied in school. He and other police officials, however, said a thorough investigation ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will look at all possibilities based on witnesses and evidence, including the possible influence of online groups promoting rebellion and violent behavior among youth.

One suspect got the 9 mm pistol from an aunt, a police officer, who was being investigated. The other suspect had a .38 caliber revolver obtained from an employee of a security agency. They managed to bring the guns onto the campus because it had inadequate security for the school’s 1,600 students, police said.

In one video of the attack posted online, students hiding under desks in a shut classroom can be heard screaming and weeping as gunshots are heard outside. Some called their mothers.

The dead and wounded were all students, police said, adding that investigators recovered at least 40 shell casings at the scene.

The suspects were to be turned over to government welfare officers after the investigation because of their age.

The 14-year-old would be exempt from criminal prosecution under a 2006 Philippine law that sets the minimum age of 15 for a minor to be criminally liable and only if authorities determine that a suspect was clearly aware of the crime that was committed and its repercussions.