Teener with ADHD mistaken for violator, shot dead in tupada raid
A RAID on an illegal cockfighting event turned tragic for a family of young man with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after the latter was shot dead during police operation Sunday afternoon in Valenzuela City.
The special education (SPED) student and resident of Assumption Ville, Brgy. Lingunan succumbed to single bullet wound in his waist while being rushed to Valenzuela Medical Center.
The victim’s mother sought the help of Mayor Rex Gatchalian to give justice for the death of her son who she claimed was shot by a police officer wearing civilian clothes during a raid in illegal cockfighting at around 12:30 p.m. at a vacant lot near their house in Assumption Ville.
The mother told Mayor Gatchalian that policemen from Malinta Police Station raided the illegal cockfighting event and while violators were running in different directions, a shot rang out.
The mother said that when she looked for her son, she was shocked to see him lying bloodied in front of their house.
The woman added that her son was mistaken by a raiding team as among the violators who wanted to escape.
Gatchalian in an interview over the radio said he will ask Northern Police District (NPD) Director P/BGen. Jose Santiago Hidalgo, Jr. to investigate the incident and the culprit, especially if he is a cop, should not go unpunished.
Meanwhile, PNP Chief Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar directed the Internal Affairs Service to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.
This, after Eleazar received a report from Valenzuela police that while the police officers were effecting the arrest, one of the three arrested violators allegedly grabbed the service firearm of one of the policemen which resulted in a scuffle. During the scuffle, the gun went off, hitting the victim.
“The policeman, with a rank of Police Senior Master Sergeant, has already been placed under restrictive custody at the Valenzuela police station and disarmed as a matter of investigative procedure, I have also directed the Internal Affairs Service to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident, specifically aimed at determining if there were lapses in the conduct of the operation. Part of my instruction is to finish the investigation at the soonest possible time.,” Eleazar said.
”I would like to assure our kababayan of a quick and impartial conduct of investigation regarding this incident. Meanwhile, I ask all persons who witnessed the incident to help us shed light on what happened so that we can quickly and impartially resolve this case,” Eleazar added.
