13-year-old boy shoots alleged lover, then self

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines—A 13-year-old boy shot himself in the head after shooting his male friend in front of a restaurant at the SM City Pampanga here on Tuesday, police said.

The boy, who was armed with a .22 cal. handgun, and his friend, who police said is in his 20s, were taken to the San Fernandino Hospital here but doctors have yet to provide updates on their conditions at 2 p.m.

The incident came barely a week after a woman shot and killed her estranged husband and a guard inside another branch of SM in North Edsa in Quezon City in what authorities said was a crime of passion.

In Pampanga, police said the two could have been in a homosexual relationship.

Mexico police chief Superintendent Wilson Santos said that a suicide note was found in the boy’s pocket.

“Willing na mamatay (to die) together with (the name of his friend),” the boy purportedly wrote in his suicide note.

Santos said the incident happened around 11:45 a.m. as the two walked out of the Congo Grill in the Mexico, Pampanga side of the mall.

Santos, quoting witnesses, said the two were seen seated in front of the restaurant minutes before the shooting happened.

No shopper was hurt in the incident, he said.

Santos said police are questioning security personnel of the mall to establish how the boy was able to bring in a gun despite security checks.

This was the second shooting incident inside an SM mall in a week.

Last Wednesday, Shiela Macapugay shot and killed her husband, Abel, who worked as a promo merchandiser in an appliance store in SM North Edsa after he left her and their five-year-old daughter for another woman.

Mall security guard Ricardo Inamac III was also killed when he allegedly tried to stop the woman from committing suicide.

Originally posted at 2:37 p.m.