In student’s slay: Two arrested for obstruction

CEBU, Philippines — Authorities arrested the two neighbors of the 14-year-old student who was shot dead last Friday in Barangay Consojong, Talisay City, for allegedly trying to cover up the crime by giving false information to the Talisay City Police.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, Police Regional Office-7 spokesman, said they found out that the first statement of the two that someone entered the house and shot the girl was not true.

The suspect in the crime, who is a close relative of the victim, was said to have already been in the house when the shooting happened, but those two arrested tried to cover up for him.

The police discovered what the neighbors did through obtained CCTV footage. A recording of how the crime was planned has also reportedly been submitted to the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit-7.

“Accordingly, these are close acquaintances, mga silingan aning victim ug suspect nga nakahibalo sa nahitabo then when the incident happened ningadto sila sa balay niya they were like orchestrating kung how to cover up the crime but our investigators were able to discover what they have done because naay CCTV, naa say audio recording which now forwarded to our anti-cybercrime unit for processing,” said Pelare.

The two are set to be charged for obstruction of justice and for being accessory to the crime of homicide even if they were not the ones who shot the victim.

The person who shot and killed the girl was also charged with illegal possession of firearms.

While the weapon used in the crime has been recovered by the police, they are still investigating why the suspect had a weapon, but they also found out that he was involved in illegal drugs in the past. — (FREEMAN)