Ateneo shooter’s gun traced to Army officer got lost in 2019 – AFP

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) acting spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar /Photo from AFPCMOS Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The .45 caliber pistol seized from the gunman in the Ateneo de Manila University shooting incident last Sunday has been missing since 2019, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) acting spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar.

The Quezon City Police District earlier said the gun confiscated from suspect Chao Tiao Yumol, 38, was traced to Army First Lt. Jeremy Aquino, an active soldier from Mindanao.

But according to Aguilar, the firearm was no longer with Aquino because it got lost around three years ago.

“It was reported that the gun [got] lost some time in 2019 and therefore, what we will do is look into the records whether this incident was reported or not so that we can conduct a proper investigation in the case,” the AFP official said in a Laging Handa briefing on Wednesday.

He then stressed that “not one of [their] personnel is involved in this isolated incident.”

READ: Raps filed vs Yumol; 1 gun traced to Army officer

An hour before the Ateneo Law School graduation on July 24, former Lamitan City Mayor Rosita Furigay, her aide Victor Capistrano, and Ateneo security guard Jeneven Bandiala were gunned down by Yumol in the campus’ Areté Complex in Quezon City.

READ: Ex-mayor, 2 others killed in Ateneo

Furigay’s graduating daughter, Hannah Rose Marian Furigay, was also wounded by a bullet fired by the suspect and is currently being treated in a hospital.

Police have since filed criminal complaints of multiple murders and frustrated murder against Yumol.

Complaints in violation of the Anti-Carnapping Act and the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition were also lodged against the suspect.

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