Senator Aquino helps identify student threatening to attack Leyte school

Senator Bam Aquino alerted the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on a threat of another school attack in Leyte. Authorities eventually identified a student suspected of posting threats online.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Aquino contacted him on Wednesday evening. “He gave me a tip na sabi niya may chatter daw sa Tacloban na meron pang isang impending mass shooting na mangyayari sa Leyte,” he added.

Remulla said he immediately endorsed the information to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), which launched an investigation. According to the DILG chief, the alleged threat was directed at Tolosa National High School in Leyte.

“The suspect is accused of planning a mass shooting or stabbing aimed at the school students,” he said, citing the CIDG report. Investigators later traced the online posts to a 14-year-old female grade 10 student who allegedly created multiple Facebook accounts to use in circulate messages of a possible attack.

One of the translated posts allegedly stated:

“Hello, send this to your friends. Yo, from Tolosa. Prepare yourselves, especially you, as you owe me. Get ready. I will disrupt the school. You won’t know me, but you will recognize me. There’s no time, no day. Be prepared for whoever gets shot or stabbed.”

The DILG said the posts spread quickly across social media, causing concern among students, parents, and residents in the area.

Remulla said authorities were able to identify the student through social media analysis and information provided by concerned individuals.

“The investigation revealed that she created multiple Facebook accounts to disseminate this content, which spread rapidly across social media, alarming students, parents, and the public,” Remulla said.

The CIDG investigation found that the student later deleted the posts after authorities reached out to her. Authorities also determined that there was no evidence of an organized plot nor does the student or her family have access to firearms.

“The threat appears to be neutralized and inactive” Remulla said, citing the investigation.

Investigators are also looking into whether the student may have been influenced by the fatal shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City earlier this week.