3 teeners nabbed for Sto. Niño fiesta killing

The Manila police arrested Saturday night three boys barely in their teens for the killing of a 17-year-old boy in Tondo during the celebration of the feast day of Sto. Niño.

Nabbed hours after the killing of Mark Lariza were Edgar, 16, Joseph, 16, and Albert, 14, all members of a gang called Bulldog Youth Company (BYC). (The STAR withheld their family names, they being minors.)

Edgar is a married out-of-school youth, Joseph is a sophomore at the Raja Solaiman High School and Albert, a Grade VI pupil at the Isabelo delos Reyes Elementary School.

Police said the three were with three others in killing Lariza of Herrera st., Tondo, shortly after midnight Saturday while the Tondo fiesta was ongoing.

Police identified the three suspects at-large as "Santos," one Takura and a certain Gerald.

The three arrested suspects denied any involvement in the killing of Lariza, and pointed to Santos as the gunman.

A report submitted by Tondo police station commander Superintendent Harrison Tolosa to Western Police District director Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon Jr., showed the killing took place along Chacon st. Saturday night.

The report said the victim, who was then with three others, reportedly insulted the suspects by shouting "BYC bulok (BYC is rotten)!"

The BYC members reportedly went after the victim's group and only Lariza stood his ground while his companions scampered away.

They encircled Lariza, and shot him twice in the legs. Another bullet in the nape finished him off.

The report said that after killing Lariza, the suspects thumped their chests with their clenched fists and boasted "BYC kami. Hindi ninyo kami kaya (We are BYC. You can't beat us)!"

The arrested suspects are now detained at the WPD detention center.