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Thursday, January 03, 2008
Boy shoots girl with pa’s gun
CEBU CITY -- An 11-year-old girl was shot in the chest, allegedly by a 12-year-old neighbor, 15 minutes into the New Year in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.
Stephanie Apostol survived the shooting but is in critical condition.
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In Tuburan, a 14-year-old girl was found dead inside a hut in Barangay Canduawan, Tabogon in northern Cebu on New Year's Day.
There are conflicting accounts on the Lapu-Lapu shooting.
Police said the .357 revolver went off when the boy threw it on the table while his parents were fighting. But an aunt of the victim said that Stephanie told her parents the boy aimed the gun at her before shooting.
Police seized the gun, an unlicensed .357 revolver. The boy, Mario (real name withheld, as he is a minor), is now with the Lapu-Lapu City Social Welfare Office.
PO1 Lorgina Sayson, investigator of the Lapu-Lapu City Women and Children Section, said that while Mario's parents were fighting, the mother ordered Mario to unload the gun.
The boy took out four bullets, not knowing the gun still held another live round.
Mario then reportedly threw the gun on the table and it went off. The bullet went through their open front door, hitting Stephanie, who was five meters away, watching children play with firecrackers.
Escape
Stephanie, however, reportedly told her parents that Mario aimed the gun at her before shooting. Her parents told this to Stephanie's aunt, Shirley Yongco, who relayed the information to Sun.Star Cebu.
Shirley said Stephanie's younger brother saw Mario pointing the gun at her.
"May pagkasipat man gud 'nang bata-a (That boy is capable of mischief)," said Noel Yongco, the victim's 58-year-old grandfather who lives beside Mario's house.
Stephanie is in critical condition inside the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. She has a gunshot wound in her chest.
After the shooting, the boy fled "allegedly accompanied by his parents," SPO2 Rolito Jumao-as, Homicide Section investigator said in his report.
Police later caught Mario in Barangay Hippodromo, Cebu City. He was then turned over to Lapu-Lapu City Social Welfare officer Nellie Punongbayan.
Sayson said the boy does not have criminal liability under Republic Act (RA) 9344 or the Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare System.
Liability
Police, however, are studying the possibility of filing charges against Mario's parents over the unlicensed gun. The parents operate photocopying machines outside a Cebu City university.
Superintendent Louie Oppus, head of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, said Mario's parents are working on an amicable settlement of the incident. Oppus, however, said he ordered investigators to look into the parents' liability for the unlicensed gun.
"Without the firearm, that wouldn't have happened," Oppus said.
Senior Inspector Maria Aurora Rayos, Women and Children Section chief, is looking into provisions of Presidential Decree 603 or the Child and Youth Welfare Code. She said the code provides criminal liabilities to a parent who "permits the child to possess, handle or carry a deadly weapon, regardless of its ownership."
Another police investigator, who asked not to be named because he was not designated to talk to media, said Mario's mother may also be held liable for "homicide through reckless imprudence by induction" because she asked him to handle the gun.
The investigator added that Mario's father can be held liable for obstruction of justice and harboring a criminal for helping his son escape.
Sayson, however, said a case for illegal possession of firearms may not prosper because the gun was in the possession and control of the boy, who is free of any criminal liability, during the incident.
Girl, 14
In Tuburan, police found 14-year-old Raqueliza Santiago, a Grade 3 pupil, hanging with a blanket used as a noose inside a hut at past 3 p.m. on New Year's Day.
PO1 Aldwin Manlangit, in a telephone interview with Sun.Star SuperBalita, said Santiago was adopted by Canduawan Barangay Captain Florendo Quinain after her parents left her.
The hut is located at the back of the barangay leader's house in Canduawan.
Police said that prior to the incident, Santiago was seen watching her favorite noontime show.
She was found hanging inside the hut at around 3 p.m. She was taken to a hospital but died before doctors could attend to her.
Police are still investigating the incident to determine if Santiago committed suicide or was killed.
"We will have this investigated because those who adopted her did not notice that she had any problem," Manlangit said. (OCP/With JST and DRT of Sun.Star SuperBalita/Sun.Star Cebu)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Dumaguete. (January 3, 2008 issue)
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