Stray bullets hit 2 minors

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

CEBU CITY -- A boy, 14, was sent to the hospital Monday after being unintentionally shot by an off-duty policeman involved in a fistfight with his neighbor in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.

Kevin Jay Tuñacao, 14, was rushed to the Mandaue City Hospital but, fortunately, survived his ordeal. He remained under observation Monday night, after being treated for a gunshot wound on his back.

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He wasn't the only minor hurt by a stray bullet within 24 hours.

Police investigators have yet to find out who fired the shot that hit the knee of a nine-year-old boy, Angelo Mosqueda Gayloa, as he was gathering firewood last Sunday afternoon in Barangay Ocaña, Carcar City.

Blood trickled from Gayloa's knee while he limped home to Sitio Bonbon, said SPO2 Jorame Tanodtanod in a phone interview.

In Mandaue's case, the police at least knew who was involved in the accidental shooting.

PO1 Carlito Donque, 28, surrendered to fellow policemen after the accident, which happened in Sitio Zone Tangkong in Barangay Paknaan at 2:30 p.m.

Over a cat

Donque, who is assigned in the Philippine Center for Aviation Security (PCAS)-Central Visayas, accidentally fired his government-issued Glock 9mm pistol during a fistfight with his neighbor, Balbino dela Cruz, 49.

Dela Cruz, in an interview, said he argued with Donque over his pet cat.

He said he confronted the policeman Monday for allegedly spraying insect repellant on his cat.

During the confrontation, both men exchanged punches, but Lito Tuñacao, the victim's father, tried to break them apart.

Dela Cruz said that Donque went to his house and returned with his service firearm, which he then pointed at him before firing a warning shot on the ground.

The bullet, however, ricocheted and hit Tuñacao, who was about 15 meters from where the two men stood.

Donque had a slightly different version of Dela Cruz's story.

The policeman said he had just come in from work, when Dela Cruz suddenly left his rented house and started shouting his name.

Donque said that when he talked to Dela Cruz, the man accused him of allegedly spraying his cat with insect repellant, which he denied.

When he tried to calm Dela Cruz, the man struck him in the face. Donque said he fought back by punching Dela Cruz in the back.

Expenses

The two men were trading blows when Tuñacao's father tried to stop them.

When they had both calmed down, Donque said he thought of arresting Dela Cruz for direct assault and returned to his house to get his handcuffs. He brought his gun to protect himself.

As he attempted to arrest Dela Cruz, the victim's father allegedly stopped him and told him to just let it go.

He headed back to his house, but Dela Cruz punched him, so he took out his pistol in self-defense.

According to the policeman, Dela Cruz grabbed his arm, causing him to accidentally fire his pistol.

The bullet hit Tuñacao as he was entering his house.

The policeman said he immediately brought the victim to the hospital and promised the boy's parents that he will pay for medical expenses.

He also surrendered to police officers led by PO2 Gilbert dela Cruz of the Investigation and Detection Management Branch (IDMB), after they sought him out at the hospital.

The police also arrested Dela Cruz for direct assault against Donque.

Dela Cruz, in an interview, said he wants to file a case against the policeman.

Hunting

The police won't be able to press charges right away in the Carcar case.

Nine-year-old grade school pupil Gayloa, according to SPO2 Jorame Tanodtanod, heard a gunshot while he was searching for logs in a copse of trees near the sea.

When he looked down, he saw blood dripping from his left knee.

"Nagping-it to siya sa kasakit (He was crying in pain)," Tanodtanod said of the child, in a phone interview.

The victim's father rushed him to the Carcar Emergency Hospital, but he was later transferred to a hospital in Cebu City.

Tanodtanod said Gayloa will have to undergo surgery to remove the bullet from his knee.

No empty shells were found in the grassy crime scene.

The police officer said he believed the culprit, who remained unidentified and at large, was hunting birds when the accident happened. (With Kevin A. Lagunda/Sun.Star Cebu)