At least three people, including a former town mayor, have been killed in a brazen attack by a gunman on a university campus in the Philippines ahead of a graduation ceremony.

The gunman, who was armed with two weapons, was captured in a car he had stolen as he tried to flee Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Sunday.

He was blocked by witnesses and authorities outside the university gates.

The university was put in lockdown and the graduation ceremony at the law school was cancelled.

Officials said those killed were Rosita Furigay, a former mayor of Lamitan in southern Basilan province, her aide and a university guard.

Ms Furigay’s daughter, who was supposed to attend the graduation ceremony, was injured and taken to hospital, police said.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the attack, but Quezon City police chief Remus Medina said the suspect, apparently a medical doctor, had a long-running feud with Ms Furigay.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, who was supposed to be a speaker at the ceremony, was on his way to the university when the attack happened and was advised to turn back, officials said.

Quezon city mayor Joy Belmonte condemned the attack.

“This kind of incident has no place in our society and must be condemned to the highest level,” she said in a statement.

Newly-elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr promised to have the attack swiftly investigated and those behind the killings brought to justice.

He is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress at the House of Representatives on Monday also in Quezon city, where police had imposed a gun ban and heightened security before the shooting.

“We are shocked and saddened by the events at the Ateneo graduation today,” Mr Marcos Jr said.

“We mourn with the bereaved, the wounded and those whose scars from this experience will run deep.”