EDITORIAL – Deadly celebration

Despite repeated admonitions from various sectors, a girl was killed by a stray bullet a week before New Year’s Eve. The Department of Health said the nine-year-old girl was playing outside her home near the Ipo Dam in Bulacan on Christmas Eve when a bullet struck her in the back. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital and later transferred to another hospital in Quezon City, where surgery failed to save her. She died on Christmas Day.

Also on Christmas, a 21-year-old student enjoying the day in Rizal Park was hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet. Ronald Zablan Paguinto was rushed to a hospital and survived, but he may never find out who was responsible for his injury.

The proliferation of guns all over the country, much of them believed to be unlicensed, makes it nearly impossible to trace the source of bullets fired into the air to celebrate the holidays. Almost every year there are victims of stray bullets during the holiday season. Almost every year at least one of the victims dies. Most of the fatalities have been children enjoying the holiday revelry. Several years ago an infant was hit while in bed at home, with the bullet tearing into the rooftop and hitting the child.

The holiday tragedies have been widely reported. Police investigators, under public pressure to find the culprits, have launched sustained probes. Most of the probes, however, eventually ran into a blank wall. Seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella, who died in Caloocan in 2013, has not received justice. A suspect has been charged in the death of Jercy Decym Buenafe, 11, of Abra in the previous New Year’s Eve revelry, but the suspect’s relatives insist the man is a fall guy.

The public can be more vigilant, but this can only go so far, especially when everyone is busy celebrating the New Year. Only tighter gun regulation can stop this irresponsible way of celebrating the holidays. One person’s celebration cannot be another’s tragedy.