Drunken father accidentally shoots, kills daughter

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – A six-year-old girl died after she was accidentally shot by her intoxicated father during a drinking session at their temporary home in Barangay 10, Victorias City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday.

Police Lt. Col. Terrence Paul Sta. Ana, chief of the Victorias City Police Station, said the 32-year-old father was playing with a firearm when it went off, hitting the child in the face as she walked by.

The victim was declared dead upon arrival at a nearby hospital.

The father was arrested following the incident but was released on Monday after his wife signed an affidavit expressing she would not press charges, Sta. Ana said.

The father initially claimed he was handling a homemade 12-gauge shotgun, though police suspect it may have been a .38 caliber firearm based on the injuries sustained.

Sta. Ana said the weapon was reportedly thrown into a river and has not yet been recovered.

The family had recently moved to Victorias City from Calatrava town, where the father previously worked, and he had taken a job as a hacienda watchman.