Airman in PMA shooting mentally stressed, say cops

FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City, Philippines — An officer of the Philippine Air Force was reportedly suffering from mental stress on Tuesday when he fired an Armalite rifle indiscriminately inside his barracks at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) here, killing a soldier and wounding another, police and academy officials said on Wednesday.

Airman Second Class Christopher Lim showed “disturbing behavior” and had been barred from accessing his government-issued firearm before the attack at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, said Police Col. Allen Rae Co, Baguio City police chief.

The suspect had assumed he was the subject of conversations among his colleagues, Co said, citing initial interviews with PMA officials.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Joefrey Turqueza was killed instantly while Army Staff Sgt. Vivencio Raton, who grappled for Lim’s automatic rifle, was wounded. Lim was also shot in the scuffle.

Both Raton and Lim were taken to Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center for treatment.

Ransacked

Before the incident, Lim had ransacked the lockers in the barracks where he got the rifle, officials said. The barracks are far from the academy’s residential areas, including the quarters of the cadets, said Maj. Cheryl Tindog, the PMA spokesperson.

Tindog confirmed that the suspect might have been dealing with psychological issues.

“Our soldiers, just like ordinary citizens, may have been silently struggling with that ordeal,” she said, describing the shooting as an “isolated” incident.

—Reports from Kimberlie Quitasol, Vincent Cabreza and Nestor Corrales