John Carlo Camilon with his pride and joy, baby Sophia (top photo) who, after the March 12 shooting incident, remains in the ICU. —Rubie Desaliza, John Carlo Camilon
Days after she was hit in the head by a stray bullet in a drug-related shooting incident in Makati City, 1-year-old Sophia Camilon remains in critical condition.
With the girl still unconscious at the intensive care unit of a Makati hospital on Thursday, police have formed a special investigation team to speed up the manhunt for the still-unidentified gunman.
On Monday afternoon, the shooter pulled up on a motorcycle in front of the food stall manned by Camilon’s mother in Barangay Kasilawan and shot Jerome Francisco, one of the customers.
Doctors hopeful
Francisco, 26, died on the spot while Camilon, who was playing in the area, was hit in the head.
“There are signs of improvement (in her condition) so the doctors are hopeful,” Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., Southern Police District director, said in an interview on Thursday.
But Camilon’s mother, Janelyn, said her daughter’s condition remained critical and that the baby was still unresponsive whenever someone would press her hands. She noted that Camilon was not yet strong enough to undergo surgery, although Apolinario said no bullet slug got lodged in the girl’s head.
Useless CCTVs
Senior Supt. Gerardo Umayao, Makati police chief, earlier said investigators had difficulty identifying the gunman because the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the area were not working at the time.
“We got CCTV footage from areas within 500 to 1,000 meters of the [crime scene],” Apolinario said. “But we are still reviewing the footage to see if it’s of any value.”
The SPD chief added that the Makati City government had asked medical specialists to look into the wounded girl’s case.
According to the police, Francisco, the gunman’s target, was on Barangay Kasilawan’s drug watch list, being a suspected “shabu” peddler who had been arrested twice in the past.