Pistol-wielding woman runs amuck in Makati, wounds 1

MANILA, Philippines—A 49-year-old woman was arrested by the police for firing a gun at neighbors and passersby, wounding one of them, in Barangay Pio Del Pilar, Makati City, Monday night.

Lilibeth Pedroso went amuck reportedly due to family problems and fired a 9-mm pistol in various directions outside her home on Santuico Street around 9:30 p.m. A stray bullet hit one neighbor identified as Rowell Roque, 30.

Security camera footage obtained by the police showed Pedroso pointing the gun at anyone who came near her. Roque was sitting along the sidewalk two houses away when hit in the buttocks.

According to witnesses, Pedroso was mumbling to herself as she went berserk and even went back inside her house to reload.

The woman was back inside and had locked the gates and the front door when responding policemen arrived. “We moved with extreme caution in arresting the suspect because her son (aged 15) was also inside the house,” said Chief Insp. Jose Anaz of the Makati police.

Pedroso did not put up a fight and finally turned herself in around 1 a.m. Tuesday. The gun she used was still loaded with seven rounds of ammunition when recovered and at least 19 bullet casings were found outside her house.

According to Makati City Police chief Senior Supt. Ernesto Barlam, the woman claimed that the 9-mm pistol was licensed in the name of her husband, who was abroad at the time.

She declined to give details as to why her husband needed to keep a gun and what exactly made her “snap,” the official added. Maricar B. Brizuela