Gunman kills drug suspect but hits 1-year-old in the head

A 1-year-old girl remained in critical condition at Ospital ng Makati, a day after a stray bullet fired by a man on a motorcycle lodged in her head on Monday.

But the target of the gunman, 26-year-old Jerome Francisco, died on the spot.

The police later confirmed that he was on the barangay drug watchlist.

Sophia Alexa Camilon was playing in front of the food stall manned by her mother at Barangay Kasilawan in Makati City, when a still unidentified man pulled up on a black motorcycle at 5:19 p.m. on Monday, based on a report sent to the Southern Police District.

The report said the suspect began to fire shots at Francisco, one of the customers eating at the food stall located at the corner of Cagayan and Francisco Streets.

Target dead on the spot

Francisco was killed instantly while Camilon was hit by a stray bullet in the head and rushed to Santa Ana Hospital in Manila.

Barangay Kasilawan officials told the Inquirer the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area were not working at that time.

“We are having some trouble identifying [the gunman], because aside from there being no CCTV [cameras] in the area, he was wearing a [motorcycle] helmet,” Senior Supt. Gerardo Umayao, Makati police chief, told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

“We are leaning heavily toward treating this as a drug-related crime,” he said.

Camilon was transferred to Ospital ng Makati’s intensive care unit on Monday night. Her father, John Carlo, told the Inquirer that doctors were waiting for his daughter to gain strength before they could operate on her.

Mother’s lament

Sophia’s mother, Janelyn, had urged the suspect in an earlier TV interview to come forward.

“I hope your conscience bothers you. You hit a child. Don’t you have children? Don’t you pity my daughter?” Janelyn had said.