Halfway through the school day, their classroom became a crime scene
A small town is searching for answers after two students were shot dead at school. All signs point to a new wave of extremism in the form of a little-known online community.
Warning: this story contains descriptions of violent events that may be confronting.
Fourteen-year-old Bryan Pamonag is passing the time, working on a project with his school friends.
It's lunchtime but they're staying inside a classroom, avoiding the oppressive September humidity in the southern Philippines town of Banga.
Suddenly they're interrupted by loud bangs. Two at first but more quickly follow.
With his ears still ringing, he realises what the noise is and where it has come from.
"I looked out the window, and I saw a student carrying a gun," Bryan told 7.30.
"I looked over at my classmates, and my best friend Chaldean had been shot.
The young gunman was now walking towards the classroom, carrying his father's 9mm pistol, and Bryan inched closer to the line of fire.
"I saw him approaching the door while still firing, I crawled toward it to close it," Bryan said.
"I kicked him in the stomach and shut our classroom door … blocking it because he was trying to force it open.
"He moved to the window … he shot at me. I tried to dodge but I was hit in the hand.
"I saw one of my classmates run out of the room, he was shot three times."
Video posted to social media shows chaotic scenes of children desperately fleeing out of the school gates as the shooting unfolded.
The young gunman then died by suicide. Bryan witnessed it.
Across town, 14-year-old Chaldean's mother, Catherine Lubaton, heard about the shooting on a community group chat.
"I got on a motorbike and called Chaldean on her cell phone … she wasn't answering," she said.
"I entered the school. I went to Chaldean's classroom, but she was no longer there. I saw traces of blood.
"I thought maybe she had only suffered minor injuries.
Earlier this month, the devastated community came together for Chaldean's funeral.
A white coffin adorned with purple butterflies passed through the streets of Banga in an ornate golden carriage, Catherine only a few steps behind the procession.
She was surrounded by the smiling face of her child in uniform, taken too soon, while experiencing a pain no parent should.
Banga's residents woke early, to watch the procession pass by and reflect on the unimaginable tragedy.
Bells tolled as family and young friends sombrely filled the local church.
Extended family, classmates and friends watched on as Chaldean was laid to rest, often leaning on each other for support during the emotional ceremony.
Catherine says she will miss the quiet moments she shared with her daughter.
"Sometimes she would sleep next to me. When we watched TV she would rest her head on my lap … she was very affectionate," she said.
The shooting at Banga National High School killed two students and the gunman, and wounded eight others in just two minutes.
It's the third school shooting in the Philippines in just four months.
The True Crime Community
The Philippines has rarely seen this type of violence at schools in quick succession.
In June, two students opened fire at a school in Tacloban, killing three people and injuring 20.
Two months later, a high school shooter in Zamboanga City live-streamed an attack, killing a student, injuring dozens and fatally shooting himself.
Officials are examining why this wave of violence has swept through schools across the country.
Analysts and cybersecurity experts are investigating the cases as possible acts of Nihilistic Violent Extremism, or NVE.
NVE is a term used by law enforcement to refer to acts of violence motivated by a misanthropic worldview, or a general hatred for society, rather than for a social, political or religious cause.
Philippines officials have honed in on a specific online subculture tied to NVE, known as the True Crime Community (TCC), where members of its extremist fringe may become obsessed with mass killers.
Philippine National Police have confirmed that it's investigating the link between the Banga shooting and the TCC.
"The suspect … posted his manifesto, stating that he is a member of the True Crime Community," Brigadier General Alan Bolongon Manibog told 7.30.
"The forensic digital examinations of the cell phones that we have recovered from the shooter and also from his classmates is still undergoing."
"Right now, we have our experts coming from the anti-cybercrime unit and other law enforcement agencies looking into [Nihilistic Violent Extremism]."
'Manipulating, influencing and radicalising'
Analysts at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research are examining at least nine cases over the last year in South-East Asia of youth-perpetrated school attacks, likely linked to NVE.
Among them is a shooting at a Thailand school in Nonthaburi this year, in which a young gunman killed seven people, including his two grandparents, before fatally shooting himself.
Also among the attacks is a bombing at the SMAN 72 school and mosque in North Jakarta that injured 99 people.
Philippine National Police said the Jakarta school bombing was referenced in the Banga shooter's manifesto.
In the wake of the shooting in Tacloban, in July the Philippines Senate convened hearings into the incident and to work on an institutional response.
The Senate heard allegations the shooting in Tacloban may have been influenced by 764, a decentralised online extremist and child sextortion network.
Although researchers disagree over how 764 and the TCC overlap, both are considered as major, growing, global threats that use online pathways to groom or radicalise children.
Angel Redoble from the Philippine Society of Cyber Security Professionals said young Filipinos were typically targeted on social media apps like Discord, or on gaming platforms like Roblox before moving to encrypted messaging apps.
"Platforms where a group of individuals, we call the groomers, are manipulating, influencing and radicalising vulnerable Filipino minors into committing real life violence, such as shootings."
Analysts say the grooming or recruiting of minors can be done either by adults or other young people.
Mr Redoble said in all three shootings in the Philippines, the TCC had celebrated the acts of violence.
The shootings have prompted national discussion over firearm safety in the Philippines, which has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Asia.
The father of the school shooter in Banga, who worked for the Department of Education, is under investigation for firearm safety offences, over his son being able to access his handgun, which police say the boy took from a vault.
Taking protective measures
At a high school in Koronadal, the administrative centre of South Cotabato province near Banga, 7.30 viewed enhanced security measures being used in a bid to protect students.
Students were being funnelled into lines at the school gates, where security officers were scanning students and their possessions with metal detectors, while rummaging through their bags.
"We are very worried that what happened to Banga could happen here," Assistant Principal Sanny Pama said.
He thinks parents should be more closely monitoring what students were doing on their smartphones and laptops, including who they are talking to.
"There is no communication between the parents and the students and they are using their cell phones up to late at night," he said.
"We encourage the parents to check the phones, the apps and the lines of communication, who they are engaging with."
It's a sentiment echoed by Philippine National Police.
"We remind parents to look into the activities of their children online including social media," Brigadier General Manibog said.
"The safety and security of these children starts at home."
Brigadier General Manibog said there has been an increase in threats made online to cause violence in the community since the Banga shooting.
Philippine National Police told a Senate inquiry earlier this year they had "rescued" 24 minors, who were identifying themselves as members of the TCC or 764, by connecting the children with social workers.
In October Philippines media reported the country's national Interior Secretary revealed authorities had foiled more than 50 planned school shootings in South Cotabato following the shooting in Banga.
Fifty-three people allegedly involved in online threats and grooming were arrested.
"The cases involved different individuals and were not part of a single coordinated group," Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.
Recent shootings have prompted a nationwide school safety and security audit, while Filipino lawmakers look to expand laws to fight online abuse, grooming and radicalisation.
In August, the Philippine government said it had secured commitments from Roblox aimed at strengthening child safety online, including enhanced age verification, faster cooperation with law enforcement and improved detection of harmful content.
Roblox has also implemented additional safeguards to detect early signs of potential child endangerment.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Discord said the platform uses safety teams to prevent the spread of content that violates policy.
"We maintain strong systems intended to prevent the spread of violent extremism, sexual exploitation and grooming on our platform and also work with other technology companies and safety organizations to improve online safety across the internet," the statement read.
Philippines authorities are also considering a social media ban for teenagers.
South Cotabato Vice-governor Arthur Pingoy said more work needs to be done.
"Looking at what happened, we still need a lot of things to do to address incidents like this."
Catherine Lubaton just hopes the death of her daughter isn't in vain.