Boy, 13, shot by 11-year-old neighbor

CEBU, Philippines - A 13-year-old boy is now fighting for his life after he was shot on the head by his 11-year-old neighbor who was playing with a gun in Barangay Suba Pasil at 5 pm last Friday.

Police identified the victim as Mark Rey Abaño, Grade 3 student of Suba Pasil Elementary School and the suspect as Kevin (not his real name), a Grade 6 student of the same school.

PO1 Esmer Escultor, of the Homicide Section of the Cebu City Police Office, said the incident took place at the computer area of Jumao-as Billiard Hall in Sto. Niño corner Flores Streets, sitio Lawis of the said barangay.

Investigation showed that the suspect was playing with a gun and was aiming it on the victim when it went off after the suspect pulled the trigger for the third time.

Cesar Abergas, the billiard hall’s 64-year-old caretaker, told the police that he was attending to a billiard game when he heard the burst of gunfire.

Abergas then saw the suspect, who was still holding the gun, run away and said, “Ako na man ‘to nakuha ang bala. (I already removed the bullet.)”

He verified the origin of the gunfire and saw the victim lying on the floor with blood oozing from his head.

He called for a trisikad and took the victim to the Cebu City Medical Center.

As of yesterday, Escultor said the victim was submitted to a surgical operation and was still in critical condition.

The victim’s aunt, Mary Ann Abejo, 33, alleged that she was on her way home when she saw the suspect with his 27-year-old father hurriedly leaving. She learned of the shooting incident moments later.

Escultor said the suspect and his father have left the area when they arrived.

Personnel of San Nicolas Police Station were able to hold in custody the suspect’s mother.

Escultor said they advised the mother to voluntarily surrender her child, but the mother just kept on crying and denied knowing where the two went, which police find hard to believe.

“Basin daw gilingaw ra sa amahan ang anak kay na-trauma kuno, (She said her husband might have tried to veer the child’s attention away from the incident which traumatized him.)” Escultor told The FREEMAN.

The police officer said the firearm used in the shooting was a caliber .38 revolver. A deformed slug was discovered at the crime scene.

The gun, believed to be unlicensed, has not been retrieved yet. Its ownership was not yet determined, Escultor further said.

The mother claimed, though, that her live-in-partner does not own the gun.

Escultor said they also tried to interview the children who were with the victim and the suspect during the incident, but all of them denied witnessing what happened.

The parents would also scold their kids if they answer the questions of the police, he added.

The police are now looking for the boy although he is expected to be exempted from any criminal liability owing to the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act. — (FREEMAN)