Asia-Pacific

Canadian kills 2 at Philippine court

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A Canadian man has opened fire in a Philippine courtroom, killing two people and injuring another before being shot dead by police.

John H. Pope appeared in court in Cebu City on Tuesday to face charges of illegal possession of weapons when he pulled out a gun and shot dead a lawyer and a physician, who had sued him, said Cebu police chief Mariano Natuel.

The suspect then turned his gun on other people in the hallway, firing at a prosecutor, before police fatally shot him, Natuel added.

Police director Marcelo Garbo said that the Canadian ignored officers’ orders to give in and even tried to fire at them.

Local media said that Pope was held in 2011 for possessing firearms. The physician killed in the shooting had accused Pope, his neighbor, of threatening him and other neighbors with a weapon.

Pope was also charged with malicious mischief and grave threats.

The shooting came amid growing public calls for stricter gun laws in the Philippines, following several gun-related deaths this month.

According to the country’s police firearms and explosives office, there were roughly 600,000 unregistered firearms in the Philippines as of last year.

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