THE Air Force man who had indiscriminately fired his gun inside the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has died, the academy announced Thursday, October 1, 2020.
PMA spokesperson Major Cherryl Tindog said the gunman, whom she did not name, suffered from a mental health problem.
Tindog said the academy is committed to address mental health issues among its cadets and all military personnel.
“With the initial probe conducted by PMA, it has been revealed that the shooting incident is an issue of mental health problem on the side of the shooter that led to this tragedy,” she said in a statement sent to reporters.
“Our soldiers, like any other person, may have been silently struggling with such an ordeal. Hence, the academy is now more than ever, committed to attend to the mental health not only of our cadets, but more so of every military personnel,” Tindog added.
The shooter succumbed to the gunshot wound he obtained during the incident on Tuesday afternoon, September 30, which killed Army Staff Sergeant Joefry Torqueza and wounded Senior Sergeant Vivencio Raton.
Tindog said they will continue to provide psycho-social intervention to identify personnel suffering from mental health issues and help them.
“This is the PMA's commitment to its personnel in order for them to remain psychologically fit for any mission given them,” she said.
“In as much as this incident is an isolated case, the PMA community is doing its very best to look into every single detail leading to the incident and to provide the necessary solutions to ensure that no similar case will happen in the future,” she added. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)