Family of ‘hero’ student cries for justice

MANILA, Philippines — The family of Chris Lorenz Fabian, a 15-year-old student dubbed as a hero following Monday’s incident in Tacloban, will file charges against the two school shooters.

Aged 14 and 15, the suspects killed three students, including Fabian, and injured 20 others at San Jose National High School.

“We will file a case against them. It’s just painful because they are minors. We will have to wait a few more years,” Erbea, Chris’ mother, told radio dzMM.

“If the two minors will not be held accountable, it should be the parents who should be imprisoned,” Erbea stressed.

Chris was fatally shot while holding a door to stop one of the gunmen from entering a classroom.

Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez has urged parents to “focus and take a stronger role to discipline your children.”

“It is not the responsibility of the government to discipline them,” he pointed out.

Reports linking the attack to bullying are “not factual, based on the evidence gathered so far,” he said yesterday.

Police said one of the two guns used in the shooting belonged to a policewoman. The other pistol was registered to a security agency in Cebu City.

Aid, condolences

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has extended immediate aid to the families of the three casualties.

The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the shooting incident, saying it “firmly rejects all forms of violence and extremism aimed at undermining security and stability.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund has expressed condolences to the affected families, noting that the “involvement of minors, as both victims and alleged perpetrators, further underscores the urgent need for strengthened prevention of violence and protection and mental health support systems for children.” — Miriam Desacada, Pia Lee-Brago