Boy linked to abduction case fatally shot

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY – Police are investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy who was shot by an unidentified person on Cuadra Locsin Streets, Barangay 12, early Saturday.

Police Major Elmer Bonilla, head of Police Station 1, said the victim, who was alleged to be mentally challenged, was on the sidewalk when the perpetrator, aboard a motorcycle, shot him in the head.

Police recovered a spent cartridge from an unknown firearm at the scene.

Bonilla said that according to the victim’s parents, they could not control their son because he would often go out of their house, join a group of young people, and loiter on the sidewalk.

Bonilla stated that the shooting occurred barely two weeks after the victim was tagged in the reported abduction of a five-year-old girl in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, earlier this month.

The search for the missing girl went viral on social media, leading to the arrest of three persons, including the victim, and the rescue of the child hours after she was reported missing on the afternoon of July 1.

The 12-year-old boy was among the three persons seen with the girl during the rescue operation in Barangay Villamonte.

The two adult suspects have been charged with abduction, but the case against the victim did not prosper, according to Bonilla.

However, despite the victim’s link to the abduction case, Bonilla said they could not confirm if it had something to do with his death.

“Indi ta pa mahambal sa subong kay ga investigate pa kita,” Bonilla said.