A 12-YEAR-OLD scavenger was gunned down by a security guard of a construction site at the South Road Properties in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City on Saturday afternoon, April 24, 2021.
Justine Jay Ferrer, 12, of Sitio Ypil, Barangay San Nicolas, sustained a gunshot wound on his neck.
The suspect, Marelle Belano, 29, immediately surrendered himself to the police following the incident.
Staff Sgt. Renato Baldo of the Mambaling Police Station told Superbalita Cebu that Belano was patroling the compound belonging to the construction firm he was working for when he noticed a group of child scavengers stealing scrap metal in the site.
Belano told investigators that he decided to fire a warning shot using his 9mm service firearm at the group as a way to scare them.
He admitted to police that he was growing tired of the scavengers’ deeds of stealing scrap metal from the construction site and throwing rocks at him whenever he attempted to chase them.
But instead of a warning shot, Belano realized that he had hit one of the scavengers when he saw Ferrer lying on the ground, already bleeding from his wounds.
Emergency responders immediately brought Ferrer to the Cebu City Medical Center, but he died just after arriving at the hospital.
Baldo said Belano is set to be charged with homicide in relation to Republic Act 7610, or the Anti-Child Abuse Law. (AYB / JKV)