Stray bullet victims in Metro down to 12 with no fatalities

The death of stray bullet victim Stephanie Nicole Ella last year may still be unsolved but Metro Manila residents seem to have learned from the tragedy as the number of stray bullet victims went down by nearly half this holiday season.

From Dec. 16 to Jan. 1, a total of 12 people were reported injured by stray bullets but no fatalities were recorded, Director Carmelo Valmoria, National Capital Region Police Office chief, said Wednesday.

Ella was watching a fireworks display outside her house in Caloocan City when she was hit by a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve in 2012. She died after several days in the hospital.

Valmoria noted that the figure was lower than the 21 cases recorded during the same period in 2013.

So far, this year’s stray bullet victims, as tallied by the police, were mostly from Manila which reported five cases followed by eastern Metro with three cases; southern Metro with two cases; and Quezon City and northern Metro accounting for  one case each.

Only two persons, however, have been arrested for indiscriminate firing.

In Muntinlupa City, the local government, which imposed a citywide firecracker ban this year, reported that only three people were injured by firecrackers as of Jan. 1. Last year, it recorded 18 injuries and one death due to firecrackers.

Meanwhile, a stray bullet tore through the roof of a house in Pasig City on Tuesday night, only minutes before a stray bullet hit a 2-year-old girl in another village.

According to a police report, Ramon Cariol, an overseas Filipino worker, noticed the hole in the roof of his residence on Sto. Niño Street in Barangay (village) Palatiw around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

During a search of his house, he discovered a bullet of a still unknown caliber in one of the rooms, the report said.

The police are conducting an investigation of the incident which took place minutes before another stray bullet struck 2-year-old Diane Vocal in Barangay Caniogan in the forehead.

Charlie Vocal told the police that he was with his daughter in front of their  house on Kagitingan Street in Pasig City at 11:40 p.m. when he saw something hit her in the head.

Diane was rushed to Rizal Medical Center but she was discharged after treatment. The deformed slug that authorities recovered was being subjected to a ballistics exam, Senior Supt. Mario Rariza, city police chief, said.  With a report by Kristine Felisse Mangunay