Authorities have started looking for a man believed to have long harbored a
grudge against a family in Caloocan City after he killed three of its members Sunday morning.
The victims – a man, his wife and one of their two children – died after they were shot inside their house in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.
They were identified as Prudencio Torres, his wife Milagros and their daughter Marjorie.
Jonalyn, the couple’s other child, was wounded and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Police identified their attacker as Charlie Balboa, their former neighbor who, according to witnesses, had figured in previous run-ins with the victims.
Senior Superintendent Jude Santos, Caloocan police chief, said that the shooting happened around 6 a.m. Sunday when Balboa barged into the victims’ house and shot them before he escaped.
At least seven cal. .45 shells were found at the crime scene.
Balboa was positively identified by witnesses who said they saw him coming out of the victims’ house shortly after they heard gunshots.
“Balboa was a former neighbor of the Torreses who had been harboring a grudge against the family allegedly for [spreading rumors about him],” Santos said.
He added that Balboa and his family left the neighborhood five months ago after he was caught by a power company illegally tapping into its electrical lines.
Santos said that Balboa had suspected Prudencio Torres of reporting his illegal activities to the power company.
Police records also showed that Balboa’s wife, Divina, figured in a scuffle with Marjorie and Milagros two months ago. In particular, she accused them of ganging up on her and hitting her with steel bars.