Another teenage killing

STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan, Philippines – A 15-year-old high school junior was stabbed dead by a 16-year-old schoolmate in their campus here last Wednesday morning, authorities said.

The victim sustained two stab wounds in the abdomen and left arm and was rushed to the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Police recovered the balisong used by the young suspect. The incident happened during recess along the corridor outside the students’ classroom.

Police also found a bloodstained armchair with which the victim reportedly hit the suspect during their fight. Out of fear, their schoolmates did not try to pacify them.

The suspect fled and is still the subject of a police manhunt.

“I was shocked. It has saddened me to watch the news about a 13-year-old boy who committed suicide earlier this week after shooting his friend in a mall in Pampanga and I didn’t expect this would also happen in our place,” said school division superintendent Aurora Domingo.

Domingo said she has sent a team of supervisors to conduct a separate probe.

She said the suspect, though still young, must face the consequences of his act. 

She said school authorities should put stricter measures in place to prevent a similar incident.

She said security guards in schools must not be contented with just checking the identification cards of students but should also thoroughly check their bags.

Last Sept. 15, a 12-year-old boy died after he was beaten up by his classmates in their classroom in Baguio City.