Carlos vows justice for baby ‘stray bullet’ victim
PHILIPPINE National Police chief, General Dionardo B. Carlos yesterday vowed justice for a 1-year-old baby girl who was killed by a stray bullet that penetrated the wall of their house in Negros Occidental last December 5.
The top cop said he has ordered Police Regional Office 6 director, Brigadier Gen. Flynn E. Dongbo to press criminal charges against the suspect who surrendered after being bothered by his conscience.
Suspect Nomar Ayan Bero, 46, is now under police custodial investigation.
“Bero will be charged accordingly, based on the appreciation of the prosecutor of the evidence presented by police investigators,” Carlos said, as he instructed Dongbo to closely monitor the progress of the investigation to establish an airtight case against the suspect which will lead to his successful prosecution.
According to an initial police investigation, the victim was playing inside their house together with her grandparents and other kin in the afternoon of December 5. The people in the house said that they suddenly heard two gunshots followed by a loud sound coming from the galvanized iron corrugated wall.
The next thing they saw, the baby was already lying on the floor with her head bleeding.
The victim was rushed to the hospital in Manapla town and transferred to another medical facility in Bacolod City where she died the following evening.
The next day, Bero turned himself to the authorities and confessed that he was the one who fired twice his caliber .38 revolver in the area.
“As we dig deeper into this, we would like to check on the documents of the suspects for carrying such firearm. Our investigators are already preparing all material and testimonial evidence to support the case,” Carlos said.
