Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato said the Philippine government is checking whether there were Filipino casualties in two separate gun attacks in Brazil and France on Wednesday.
No immediate reports of affected Filipinos from the Philippine Embassy in Brasilia and Philippine Consulate in Strasbourg were released, but Cato said the foreign posts have monitored the deadly shooting incidents that took place in Campinas and Strasbourg.
“We have monitored the shooting at the Metropolitan Cathedral in the city of Campinas near São Paulo. The Philippine Embassy in Brasilia will be sending us a report on this unfortunate incident,” he said in a text message to reporters.
“We are also monitoring a shooting incident in Strasbourg, France,” he added.
A gunman opened fire inside the church in Campinas near Brazil’s most populous city, São Paulo, killing five and wounding several others. The perpetrator then killed himself before police could arrest him.
Meanwhile, the gunman in Strasbourg remains at large after killing three and injuring at least a dozen people.
According to reports, the shooting advanced toward the Grand Rue, one of the city’s main shopping streets.
Some areas, including the European Parliament, were placed into lockdown with the public taking shelter inside the establishments and restaurants in the city.