A TWENTY- FOUR – year old Abrenian who first reported to the police that he was hit on the leg by a stray bullet later recanted his story and said that he had shot himself accidentally.
Jomary Oca of Sappaac in Bangued told police investigators in the San Juan Police Station that he was drunk at that time when he shot himself. He was brought to the hospital and it was there that he lied and told doctors that he was hit by a stray bullet.
Oca said that he used a homemade .45 pistol which he placed on its holster but then shot himself. He surrendered the gun to the police.
Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office – Cordillera (PROCOR) has launched an investigation into an incident where a stray bullet hit a 52-year old farmer in Barangay Baug, San Juan, Abra province.
The farmer was hit by the bullet around 1:00 A.M. on January 1. While injured, he is currently stable after undergoing surgery.
“It is still under investigation and we need a technical person who will probe on the angulation to determine the approximate distance of the one who fired the gun,” Col. Ronald Gayo, deputy regional director for operations of the PROCor, said.
According to Gayo, the PROCor is enlisting the help of a forensics expert from the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory and will subject the slug taken from the chin of the farmer to a ballistics examination.
Meanwhile, Gayo reported another similar incident in the town of Bangued, Abra that happened at around 11:00 P.M. on December 31 of last year was found to be self-inflicted.
“Based on the case conference this morning (January 3), the deputy chief of police of Bangued said the victim surrendered a firearm, which is the source of the bullet that hit him,” he said.
