BOY, 14, ACCIDENTALLY SHOT 11-YEAR-OLD NIECE DEAD

A 14-year-old accidentally shot his 11-year-old niece dead in the mountain village of Mainit, Naga City last Wednesday night. The boy, an eighth-grader, played with a .38 revolver, allegdly owned by his elder brother when it went off and hit the girl in the head. SPO1 Maricor Aliganga, chief of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk, said the boy didn’t show any remorse. “Wala siyay reaksiyon. Wala siya na-surprise, morag walay nahitabo ra (He showed no reaction, no surprise, as if nothing happened),” she said in a phone interview. She said they are still investigating on who the gun’s real owner is.

A 14-year-old boy accidentally shot his 11-year-old niece to death in the mountain village of Mainit, Naga City at 7 p.m. last Wednesday.

Investigation showed that the boy, an eighth grader, was playing with a .38 revolver reportedly owned by his elder brother when it went off, hitting the girl’s in the head near the left eyebrow.

SPO1 Maricor Aliganga, Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) chief, said the boy felt no shock after the incident.

“Wala siyay reaksiyon. Wala siya na-surprise, morag walay nahitabo ra (He showed no reaction, no surprise, as if nothing happened),” she said in a phone interview.

Aliganga said they are still investigating to determine the real owner of the gun after the boy’s brother denied owning it.

Investigators were told that the deceased grandfather was the gunowner.

She said the victim was eating dinner with his younger sister inside the house they shared with the boy’s family when the incident happened.

The boy found the gun inside the bag, which was left outside his parents’ store.

He was outside the house when he pulled the gun’s trigger. The bullet tore through the wooden wall and hit the girl, who collapsed from her seat.

Relatives rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival by the doctor.

The boy was turned to the city social welfare office for counseling.

Aliganga said the boy knew he was playing with a real gun, but he cannot be arrested under Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which states that a minor whose age is 15 below cannot be charged with any criminal case.

The law states that a social welfare officer determines whether to release a minor offender aged 14 and below to “the custody of his or her parents, or refer the child to prevention programs.” /