Cops widen probe on girl’s fatal shooting

MANILA, Philippines – Police investigators have widened their probe into the fatal shooting of an 11-year-old girl during the New Year’s Eve revelry in Mapayapa village, Pulang Lupa Uno in Las Piñas City.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Jemar Modequillo said they are looking into other leads to identify the suspect or suspects in the death of Darlene Gutierrez, who was hit by a bullet in the head while waiting for a neighbor to shower coins – a prosperity rite – on the terrace of the neighbor’s house before midnight on Friday.

Earlier, police invited for questioning the neighbor, a 55-year-old contractor, to shed light on the incident.

“We are following up on other leads aside from our person of interest,” Modequillo told The STAR yesterday.

He declined to give further details so as not to preempt ongoing follow-up operations.

Modequillo withheld the identity of the contractor pending results of the investigation.

Police said the contractor underwent a paraffin test.

A check with the Philippine National Police  (PNP) Firearms and Explosives Division showed the contractor is not a licensed gun holder, Modequillo said.

Stray bullets

Meanwhile, the PNP will conduct forensic analysis on 30 out of 51 stray bullets, which caused injuries during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Aranas, director of the PNP Crime Laboratory, said the bullets collected from different police regional offices would be forwarded to the national headquarters’ Firearm Identification System (FIS).

The FIS is a system that stores data on bullets and slugs recovered from crime scenes. – Perseus Echeminada, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Paolo Romero