Girl dead, ma hurt in attack

CEBU, Philippines - A 15-year-old girl was killed while her mother is now in the hospital after they were shot by an unidentified man along AS Fortuna Street, Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City, yesterday afternoon.

Kim Patenio, who was shot in the head, was declared dead on arrival at the Gullas Medical Center while her mother Prescilla Patenio, 54, was also brought to the same hospital but later transferred to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center after she was shot in the right cheek.

Both the victims are residents of Sitio Tikyan, Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City.

Police Officer 1 Juanito Libres, desk officer of the Mandaue City Police Office Station 4 in Casuntingan, said that the two were onboard a public utility jeepney en route to a mall with plate number GWE-884 driven by Almer Aurit, 41.

Libres said that while the jeepney stopped in front of a supermarket around 2:50 p.m., an unidentified man who was wearing a bonnet and a black jacket and riding a mountain bike suddenly shot the Patenios. The assailant pedaled off and was last seen entering Sitio Urel near the barangay hall.

Aurit told the police that the assailant shot Kim first before shooting Prescilla. The two were the only passengers in the jeepney at that time.

“Unang nahagba ang anak, sunod ang inahan,” Libres said. 

Libres said that the investigator found threatening text messages on Kim’s cellular phone. Kim is a high school student in one of the schools in Mandaue City.

Libres further said that Prescilla’s son, who is only known by his alias “Tibor” who is in his 20s, was arrested on the first week of January this year for his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

Libres said the victims often visited Tibor while he was still detained in the station.

The police are still conducting a follow-up investigation to determine the identity of the assailant and his motive for shooting the victims. They also recovered an empty shell of a 9mm pistol round from the crime scene.  —/BRP (FREEMAN)