Personal grudge eyed in Mandaue shooting

CEBU, Philippines- The police are eyeing a personal angle as the possible motive of the unidentified gunman for shooting a 15-year-old girl and her mother who were onboard a public utility jeepney along AS Fortuna Street, Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City Saturday afternoon.

Kim Patenio, who succumbed to a gunshot wound on her neck, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Gullas Medical Center while her mother Prescilla Patenio, 54, is already in stable condition but is still recuperating at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center after she was shot near her right eye.

 Senior Police Officer 2 Marcos Noval Jr. of the Investigation and Detective Management Branch of the Mandaue City Police Office said that they are currently looking into a personal motive of the suspect for shooting the Patenios but is still subject for verification.

 Noval, however, admitted that they do not have any leads on the identity of the assailant as of press time. He added that they cannot divulge further information on the motive of the suspect pending the investigation.

 Yesterday, Noval’s team from IDMB and the personnel of MCPO Station 4 in Casuntingan conducted a joint follow-up investigation on the incident following the directive of MCPO chief Petronelli Baldebrin to immediately identify and arrest the suspect.

 Noval discounted the possibility that the shooting could have been related to the alleged involvement of Prescilla’s other son in illegal drugs.

“Layo ra. Di guro maapil na kay dugay na man pud to,” he said.

Prescilla’s son, Tibor, was arrested on the first week of January this year for his alleged illegal drug activities. The victims often visited Tibor while he was still detained in the station.

 Noval said that the relatives of the victims were also confused why someone would do that to Prescilla and Kim since they do not know someone who is harboring a grudge against them.

 He added that they still have to check on the cellular phones of Kim and Prescilla to confirm if there really are threatening text messages as reported by the investigator of MCPO Station 4.

Noval said that according to Prescilla’s elder son, Troy, his mother is already in stable condition but still could not speak. Troy also reportedly told the police that no one is making fun or threatening his family either.

Police Officer 1 Crestito Raboy, who is also part of the team conducting follow-up investigation, said that they have recovered a footage from the Mandaue City Command Center of the shooting incident.

 Raboy said that a closed-circuit television camera was installed along Hernan Cortes corner AS Fortuna Street in Mandaue City. It is estimated to be located 20 to 25 meters from the crime scene.  He said that the CCTV footage showed that the gunman, who was riding a mountain bike, was following the PUJ the victims were riding.

While the jeepney stopped in front of a supermarket, the gunman also stopped beside the jeepney. The gunman shot Kim first before shooting her mother.

Raboy said that the act of shooting was not recorded in the CCTV camera but it caught the gunman pulling out a gun and afterwards, the passengers from the jeepney were already rushing to come down from the vehicle.

 “Wa nakita ang pagpamusil pero nakita nga naa’y gikuot ang gunman unya daling nanglayat ang mga pasahero,” he said.

 Raboy said that witnesses alleged that when the gunman pulled out his firearm, he positioned his hand in between the passengers and pushed them aside to clear his shot.

“Gisud niya ang kamot niya sa bintana. Giwakli niya ang mga pasahero before siya nagpabuto,” he said.

 Raboy said that based on the CCTV footage, the gunman was wearing a half-faced helmet and long-sleeved shirt in stripes.

 Raboy further described that the suspect is medium built, standing approximately 5’4’” or 5’55” in height, and is estimated to be in his 30’s or 40’s.

After the shooting incident, the assailant pedaled off and was last seen entering Sitio Urel near the barangay hall. Raboy said that there was no CCTV camera installed where the gunman exited. An empty shell of a 9mm pistol round was recovered from the crime scene.

Noval said that they still have to enhance the CCTV footage to get a clearer picture of the face of the gunman.

 Raboy said that the CCTV footage has largely contributed to the investigation. Raboy said that Kim is a ninth grader in a private school in Mandaue City. Her wake is held in their residence at Sitio Tikyan, Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City. (FREEMAN)