Stray bullet hits girl, ’crackers hurt 185
A 9-YEAR-OLD girl was lying in her bed watching television in their home in Barangay Malanday, Marikina City, Wednesday night when she was struck by a stray bullet.
Francia Grace Aragon, a Grade 3 pupil of Malanday Elementary School, was hit in the left shoulder around 11 p.m.
Senior Supt. Vincent Calanoga, chief of the Marikina City Police, said the girl was with her mother when they heard a gunshot. Immediately, Aragon shouted that she had been hit, with blood flowing from her left chest.
The bullet apparently crashed through the roof of the bungalow and went straight to the victim, Calanoga said.
Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, deputy for operations of the Eastern Police District, said this was the first stray bullet incident in the city this year.
Aragon was rushed to Amang Rodriguez Medical Center where she was declared in stable condition. On Saturday, she will undergo surgery at Marikina Valley Medical Center.
De Ocampo said the police had yet to determine the caliber of the firearm used in the shooting.
The bullet will be subjected to a ballistic examination, Calanoga said.
Calanoga advised people to report to the police anyone bringing out their guns or firing shots as part of the “Bantay Lahat, Lahat Bantay” movement. Their hotline: 6461631.
Dr. Emmanuel Bueno, attending physician at Amang Rodriguez Medical Center, said the bullet initially hit the girl’s left chest and then moved away from the heart.
In its “Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction 2015” report, the Department of Health (DOH) said there were three other stray-bullet incidents reported—one each from Regions I and III and another in the National Capital Region.
The DOH data also showed that as of 6 a.m. on Thursday, firework-related injuries stood at 185.
The piccolo, a small and cheap but powerful firecracker, remained the leading cause of the reported fireworks-related injuries.
The DOH-Epidemiology Bureau said that of the 185 cases reported, 133 cases or 73 percent were caused by the piccolo, which is banned.
At least 149 cases or 82 percent of the cases reported involved children under 14 years old. With Jaymee T. Gamil, AFP and Inquirer Archives
