Girl who took bullet for grandpa buried

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The five-year-old girl who was killed by a bullet intended for her grandfather tagged as a drug suspect was buried yesterday.

Placard-bearing residents attended the burial of Danica Mae Garcia, a kindergarten pupil at the East Central Integrated School in Barangay Mayombo.

Fr. Edgar Calunod asked the residents to continue praying for justice for the victim and those responsible for her death.

Calunod urged the Garcia family to accept the death of their daughter, and the community to continue praying for violence to stop.

Danica was preparing to go to school when two armed men barged into their home in Barangay Mayombo and shot her grandfather Maximo Garcia last week.

Maximo was wounded but a stray bullet hit Danica in the nape.

Four days before the attack, Maximo surrendered to the police after his name was included on the drug list.

The family claimed Maximo had stopped taking drugs more than a year ago due to health problems.

Charges of murder and frustrated murder had been filed against the suspect, identified as Bryan Macaayao of Barangay Bonuan Binloc, before the city prosecutor’s office.