Watchman faces murder raps for killing kids

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines – A member of a neighborhood watch in the town of Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat province faces murder charges for shooting dead two boys aged 7 and 11 whom he claimed to have mistaken for thieves while the youngsters were catching spiders inside a school there Sunday night, police said.

Esperanza police chief Senior Inspector Esmund Llamazares said in a telephone interview the watchman, whom he did not identify,  told the authorities he chanced upon the kids while he was patrolling the grounds of the  Esperanza Elementary School at 7:45 p.m. on Sunday and thought they were thieves.

The school administration had requested that a member of the neighborhood watch, or barangay tanod, be detailed at the school, especially at night, following a series of attempted break-ins. Llamanzares said someone had tried to break into the principal’s office just last week.

Llamanzares identified the slain boys as Carlo Torales, 7, and Sandro Gonzales, 11, both students at the school.

He said investigation showed that the boys had not stolen anything but were simply hunting spiders to play with in spider-fighting contests, a popular pastime among young people in the rural areas.

Llamanzares said the watchman was being held at the Esperanza jail.