2 kids hurt in road rage incidents

MANILA, Philippines - Two separate cases of alleged road rage incidents left two minors wounded in Quezon City in less than one week.

The first case – which gained prominence after an account of the incident went viral on social media site Facebook – involves a nine-year-old girl, who sustained kidney and liver damage after the shooting in Barangay Bungad early Dec. 6.

Three days later, a 17-year-old girl in Sangandaan was shot when the driver of the tricycle she was riding figured in an argument with a pedestrian, who was later identified as a suspect behind the shooting of a policeman in October.

Caught on video

In a phone interview with The STAR, the father of the nine-year-old victim said they decided to share the incident on Facebook, hoping that someone would be able to recognize the vehicle of the alleged gunman.

Screenshots of a white sport utility vehicle (SUV) – taken from the recording of the barangay’s closed-circuit television cameras – accompanied the post, which has been shared over 1,400 times as of yesterday afternoon.

According to the victim’s father, his daughter is now in stable condition and is recovering from her injuries. He called on police officials to act on the incident and arrest the suspect.

In his account, which was shared on Facebook by a friend, the father said he was with his family traveling along M.H. Del Pilar street around 4 a.m. when he came across the SUV “with its very bright headlights directly blinding my sight.”

“So when the driver of the said SUV and I met side by side, I brought my window down and he did so too... I asked him politely and said... ‘Brod, pwede mo namang ibaba (dim your headlight),’” read the post.

It said the other driver replied arrogantly, saying “Eh, ano ngayon (So what)?”

The father narrated that when they started to move forward, they heard three gunshots, prompting his wife to urge him to immediately leave the area.

He said his youngest daughter was hit. “My wife then hugged our youngest daughter and told me to drive to the hospital emergency room,” read the post.

The father said his daughter’s kidney and liver were damaged by the bullet and she received a blood transfusion during surgery.

He said they reported the incident to Quezon City Police District Station 2, which has started its investigation on the incident. He called on the suspect to turn himself in to authorities and pay for what he has done.

“Sana makonsensiya ka (May your conscience disturb you),” said the father.

Cop shooter

Meanwhile, police reports show that the second incident happened at around 7 a.m. Monday in front of a supermarket in Sangandaan.

Police Officer 3 Jovy Pobre of the Talipapa Police Station said the 17-year-old victim – who remains in critical condition – was in a tricycle when the incident happened.

Pobre said the suspect, Jayson Bitago, was crossing the street when a tricycle driven by Alvin Gamboa rushed past him. Police said a heated altercation ensued between Bitago and Gamboa, during which the suspect pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and shot at the tricycle.

Gamboa managed to avoid the gunshots and run away from his tricycle. However, Gamboa’s passenger was hit in the back. She was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The suspect was arrested by Senior Police Officer 1 Roy Villareal, who was passing by the area on his motorcycle at the time of the incident.

Chief Inspector Edilberto Nicanor, deputy chief of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said Bitago has been identified by a witness as the same person who shot SPO3 Renato Corado on the night of Oct. 20.

Corado was driving his Toyota Corolla, with his wife in the front passenger seat, when he went past the suspect, who was driving a motorcycle that night.  It was learned that Bitago became angry after his motorcycle was blocked by Corado’s car.

A neighbor of Bitago saw the suspect shoot Corado in the back as the policeman drove past him.

An earlier report identified the shooter of Corado as a certain Heson Bagalacsa, not Bitago.