Stray bullet kills child

CEBU, Philippines - “Yayay! Yayay!” one-year-old Charise Opsima cried, pointing at the back of her head.

Her mother, Iralyn Opsima, immediately rushed to her and found that her daughter was bleeding. The girl’s parents did not hear any burst of gunfire but they saw a bullet hole on their roof.

Charise, it turned out, was hit by a stray bullet. She was taken to the South General Hospital in Naga City and later referred to the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City.

Despite efforts of physicians, she died yesterday morning.

Police arrested the victim’s neighbor, 34-year-old Candilario Cañeda, at around 11:30 a.m. yesterday in Barangay Calajo-an where he worked as a car painter.

Cañeda is detained at the Minglanilla stockade pending charges for illegal discharge of firearm resulting in homicide.

Chief Insp. Timmar Alam, Minglanilla police chief, said Charise was playing inside their house in Sitio Upper Lipata, Barangay Linao, Minglanilla early in the morning last Sunday when she suddenly cried from pain, pointing at the back of her head.

Alam added that Francisco Villondo, 47, claimed he saw Cañeda discharging his air gun last Sunday morning but he was unaware that Charise was hit. Cañeda reportedly used caliber .22 bullets often.

A few minutes later, Villondo noticed that their neighbors and the Opsima couple were in a state of panic while carrying Charise.

Cañeda was not aware he was the suspect in the incident.

“Pag-abot gud namo sa iyang gitrabahoan mura lang siya og wala,” Alam said in a phone interview. (When we arrived at his workplace he looked like nothing happened.)

Cañeda denied the allegations, telling the police that he was sleeping when the incident happened. He told investigators he woke up only when his brother woke him up to inform him that a girl was hit.

“Ganahan man siya mutug-an pero murag nahadlok pa,” Alam said. (It seems that he is about to confess, although he is still fearful.)

Further investigation revealed that Cañeda was always showing his air gun around and firing it indiscriminately. Nobody dared to inform the police about it out of fear.

Alam said Cañeda will be subjected to a paraffin test at the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory-7 in Camp Sotero Cabahug.

The distraught mother, Iralyn, said Charise was the only child they had. She did not expect tragedy to strike at them.

“Ambot wa pa ko kahibawo unsa akong buhaton nagkinahanglan gyud mi’g tabang,” she said. (I don’t know what to do. We need help.)

Justice should be served, she stressed.

Just recently, an 11-year-old boy allegedly shot his 13-year-old playmate in Pardo, Cebu City. The victim in that incident ended up paralyzed because of his wound in the head. The 11-year-old boy is now in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

-/JPM (FREEMAN)