Boy killed by stray bullet wanted to be a cop

The boy who was accidentally killed in a shooting that also claimed the life of a barangay councilor in Manila had wanted to be a policeman.

Eight-year-old Ronjhay Furio was hit in the chest after gunmen shot Barangay 775 Zone 84 councilor Robert Cudal in San Andres Bukid around 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Furio was the eldest among three children. His grandmother, Elvira, said that he would always feed his pet chickens.

“He was a very helpful child. He knew how to do all the chores in the house. He would even take care of his 2-year-old brother,” his mother, Donna Banguito, added.

“He had plenty of toy guns here. He wanted to be a policeman like Cardo (from the TV series ‘Ang Probinsyano’),” she said.

Cudal was manning his post on Onyx Street right in front of the village hall when eight men on motorcycles arrived at the scene.

Footage taken by a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera showed two of the men shooting Cudal who was killed. A bystander, Romeo Nicolas, was wounded along with Furio. The boy was rushed to the Ospital ng Maynila where he died.

According to barangay secretary Melody Patdu, the 52-year-old Cudal headed the barangay peace and order committee. “This was his last term as kagawad. He was very active in the community,” she said.

Probers found in Cudal’s wallet a note with the name and address of a person who had allegedly threatened him.

Banguito also said the slain village councilor was active within the community.

“I don’t blame him. It was not his fault that my child was hit by a stray bullet,” she said.

The Grade 3 student was buying food at a barbecue stand when the shooting occurred. The CCTV camera footage showed him clutching his chest during the shooting.

“We didn’t know that he had gone out to buy food. He usually just plays here in front of our house. We didn’t even hear the shooting until our neighbors informed us that my son had been shot,” Banguito said.