MANILA, Philippines—A three-year-old girl died after she accidentally shot herself in the head while playing with a naval petty officer’s gun in Taguig City, police reported Thursday.
Senior Supt. Tomas Apolinario, Taguig chief of police, said Angel Ann Bunola, of Purok 1, Upper Bicutan, sustained a single gunshot wound in the head and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Taguig-Pateros Hospital where she was taken after the incident Tuesday night.
According to Apolinario, Angel Ann and her sister Abegail, 2, had gone to the house of their neighbor, PO2 Gilbert Glian, 29, of the Philippine Navy, as they were wont to do to play with the soldier’s 11-year-old daughter, Mikaela.
Glian arrived around 7:25 p.m. while the children were playing and placed his clutch bag containing his .45-calber gun atop a tool box. He then left again to visit a cousin living nearby, Apolinario said.
“Perhaps out of curiosity, the victim tried to touch the bag, prompting Mikaela to stop her,” Apolinario said.
However, unknown to Mikaela, Angel Ann must have managed to open the bag later and get hold of the gun while she was not looking, Apolinario added.
A shot rang out and the girl was seen lying on the floor, bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police said Glian was immediately subjected to a paraffin test to determine whether he had fired his gun.
Apolinario said the authorities were still studying whether to bring any charges against the soldier although the girl’s parents refused to file any complaint.
“They were already resigned to the fact that it was an accident,” he said. “But we’re studying the case to determine if the police could file charges against the suspect (sic).”