ILOILO City – Armed men sprayed with bullets a house in Barangay Calansanan, Badiangan, Iloilo. A girl died.
Mary Jean Jano, 11, sustained a gunshot wound on the head. She was rushed to the Federico Roman Tallador Sr. Memorial Hospital in Janiuay, Iloilo where she was declared dead.
The incident was a botched attempt to kill the girl’s uncles, Joseph and Richard Yucongco, according to Lieutenant Doreen Losaria, Badiangan police chief.
Mary Jean, her parents, grandfather, and cousins were getting ready to sleep when three gunmen opened fire on Sunday around 8 p.m. – just a few minutes after the Yucongcos left Jano’s house.
One suspect – April John Valle, 31, of Barangay Matag-ub, Janiuay – was arrested.
Losaria believed the strafing was bent on revenge.
Earlier on Feb. 14, Joseph and Richard had a heated argument with Valle in Janiuay.
The truck driven by the Yucongcos allegedly hit Valle’s motorcycle.
According to Losaria, Valle who was inebriated got irked and kicked the truck. This prompted the brothers to maul Valle.
The altercation was later settled at the Janiuay municipal police station.
Later that day, the Yucongco brothers went to the victim’s house for a dinner.
“Valle followed the Yucongcos. When he saw that they went to the victim’s house, he called his two companions and they strafed the house but their targets already left,” Losaria said.
Recovered from the crime scene were several spent bullet shells of a .9mm pistol.
Valle was detained at the Badiangan police station. He denied his participation in the incident.
However, the victim’s grandfather positively identified Valle.
The Badiangan police launched a “hot pursuit” operation against two other unidentified suspects./PN
