Ateneo de Manila University shooting

About an hour before the attack, a graduation ceremony was scheduled to be conducted for students of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.[9] The perpetrator was able to enter the campus through a GrabTaxi with his weapons left unchecked despite the imposition of a gun ban as part of the heightened security for Philippine President Bongbong Marcos's State of the Nation Address the following day.[10][11] He later blended with the crowd and waited for his target to appear.[1]

While homicide rates are high in the Philippines, mass shootings – particularly school shootings – are not common.[12][13] However, politically-motivated crimes are prevalent.[13][12] Federico Pascual Jr., a columnist at The Philippine Star, opined that "the Ateneo incident could be described as a mass shooting" but the Quezon City police said that the gunman "was targeting Furigay, with other victims presumably just collateral damage."[14]

Chao-Tiao Yumol, a doctor and a resident of Lamitan was identified as the suspected attacker.[8] Initial reports stated that the police named the suspect as Ramil Nicodemez Y Hermo[25] but it turned out that the name is Yumol's alias.[26] According to the police, Yumol admitted to being the one who carried out the shooting incident.[27][28] He had no permanent residence in Metro Manila and was always on the run to carry out the assassination.[2] In 2018, a cease and desist order was issued to Yumol's clinic in Lamitan by the Bangsamoro government.[29] Yumol was also the subject of more than 70 cyberlibel complaints filed by the Furigays over his accusations of their involvement in the drug trade[30] and corruption.[31] The lawyer of the Furigays denied these allegations.[32]

The police further said that the lone suspected gunman committed the crime due to "personal motives" as he had a long history of conflict with the Furigays.[6] They confiscated from Yumol a 9mm pistol registered under his name.[18] Another weapon taken from Yumol, a .45 caliber pistol, was used in the shootings, although this did not belong to Yumol but to a Philippine Army officer named Jeremy Aquino.[33] It was reported that Aquino lost the pistol in 2019 when he was assigned in Patikul, Sulu.[33] The acting spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Medel Aguilar, confirmed this and emphasized that no army personnel was involved in the shootings.[34]

Several organizations and public personalities condemned the incident.[35] President Marcos demanded an immediate investigation into the shooting.[36] Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte denounced the shooting, stating that "this kind of incident has no place in our society and must be condemned to the highest level" while extending condolences to the victims' families.[4] The Philippine Red Cross dispatched eight bags of blood to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center where the injured victims were recovering.[37]

The Ateneo de Manila University canceled the graduation ceremony for its law school students scheduled to occur hours after the shooting and pledged to assist any students, faculty, staff, and guests affected by the incident.[38] The university's administration assured the public that "its campuses are safe" and that its security protocols "are being reviewed and strengthened further."[39] Members of the Ateneo de Manila community also pledged to provide financial support to Bandiala's family and have launched a QR code payment donation channel.[40] Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the invited commencement speaker, was in transit at the time of the shooting and "was advised to turn back."[41] According to Supreme Court spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka, the chief justice was safe.[42]