EDITORIAL - Give her justice

Whether the gun was fired to celebrate the New Year or was deliberately aimed at someone to cause harm, the bullet hit an unintended target. As of last night, 15-year-old Emilyn Villanueva remained on life support at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, with a bullet lodged in her brain. Doctors gave her a poor chance of survival.

Villanueva was watching the fireworks and texting outside her house in Malabon on New Year’s Eve when she suddenly collapsed minutes before midnight. Relatives who rushed her to the hospital learned that she had suffered a gunshot only after she underwent a brain scan.

Doctors at the hospital and Department of Health officials said the trajectory of the bullet indicated that she was hit by a stray bullet fired into the air. On the other hand, Malabon police probers are insisting that she was hit by a bullet that was meant for a barangay tanod or watchman in their community. Reminded about what doctors had said about the bullet trajectory, the police said the barangay watchman’s foe had fired a warning shot into the air.

Perhaps the police investigators are correct and they truly have a suspect. This would be unique; no suspects have been caught or identified in similar cases in Metro Manila in recent years, despite protest rallies demanding justice.

Malabon police officials denied yesterday that they were setting up a fall guy and rushing to declare a solution of Villanueva’s case to avoid being relieved from their posts. Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa had warned that police commanders would be sacked if stray bullet cases were recorded in their areas of jurisdiction during the New Year revelry.

Whether Villanueva was accidentally shot in celebration or anger, the important thing is to bring the gunman to justice. If a suspect is already in police custody, accurate identification of the gunman will have to wait until the bullet is extracted from her brain and matched with the firearm.

Doctors have deferred operating on Villanueva, saying it could cause her death in her critical state. In case the bullet is extracted, doctors must help ensure that it will be the same one subjected to ballistics testing. Prosecuting the real culprit is important not only to give Villanueva justice but also to ensure that the gunman will not fire his weapon again and claim another victim.