In a move that nobody asked for and everyone wishes they could unsee, a ninth-grade student in the Philippines decided to livestream himself shooting a fellow pupil in a classroom before turning the gun on himself - the second school attack in the country in under two months.

The incident unfolded at a school attached to Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the southern city of Zamboanga, a Catholic private institution in western Mindanao. Mayor Khymer Adan Olaso told DZMM radio that the shooter "managed to enter carrying a high-powered firearm and a .45-calibre pistol," because, apparently, that's just how things go these days.

Interior Secretary Victor Remulla confirmed the suspect livestreamed the attack on social media. His Facebook account has since been disabled - a small comfort, really. In the video, circulated by local media, the barrel of a gun is seen moving down a hallway before being pointed into a classroom and fired. Children in school uniforms scream and rush for exits, because that's what children in school uniforms do when guns are pointed at them.

National police are now trying to "establish the motive behind the shooting, determine the ownership and source of the firearm used, and find out how it was brought inside the school campus," the interior ministry said. You know, the usual post-hoc detective work.

Hours later, the Philippines' customs department ordered the "preventive suspension" of an agent who owned the guns "allegedly used by the student involved." Customs deputy chief of staff Noel Bendijo told AFP that customs staff acted on intelligence from their own officers in Zamboanga. "The information is that he was the father of [the alleged shooter]… As for the actual firearms used and how the kid was able to access them, all of those are still under investigation," he said, adding, "We've also spoken with the party involved. He understands but of course he's also grieving because he also lost his child. That's a nightmare for any parent." Indeed, a nightmare compounded by the fact that your kid just used your guns to commit a murder-suicide.

Police, when asked about the customs report, said only that they were still investigating. Because of course they are.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. took to social media to express the usual presidential sentiments: "We grieve with the families and the entire [school] community over a tragedy that should never have happened. I have directed our law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and to determine what more must be done to prevent another family, another school and another community from suffering the same grief." Translation: we'll form a committee, maybe.

In June, at a public high school in Tacloban City, three students were killed and about 20 injured after two students opened fire on campus. In response, the government banned an online game, Gorebox, after discovering at least one of the alleged shooters regularly played it, and reopened a senate inquiry on child safety in digital spaces. Because obviously the problem is the game, not the guns.

The department of education told a separate senate committee last month that more support was needed to prevent a "copycat phenomenon," as more incidents of violence followed the shooting, including bomb threats, stabbing, and the recovery of firearms and ammunition, local media reported.

South-east Asia is grappling with violence among secondary school students. A 14-year-old boy in Thailand allegedly shot his grandparents and then killed more people at his school earlier this month before turning the gun on himself. Nine people died, including the shooter, teachers, and a 12-year-old girl, and more than 30 were wounded. Because apparently, this is the new trend, and it's spreading like wildfire.