Family of younger Tacloban school shooter leaves city, neighbors say

TACLOBAN CITY — The family of the 14-year-old boy who, together with a schoolmate staged the deadly San Jose National High School shooting has left their home in Barangay 85, with neighbors saying they apparently relocated to Manila.

A neighbor, who requested anonymity but identified himself as a village official, said the boy’s parents left the village on Thursday along with the teenager’s grandparents.

“They have abandoned their houses since Thursday. What we have learned is that they were going to Manila,” the official said, adding that the family has relatives in the national capital.

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The official said the boy’s grandfather is a barangay councilman.

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The official said the 14-year-old, the eldest of three siblings, is generally quiet and rarely socialized with other young people in the community.

“That boy is a quiet person. He does not really mingle with young people here in the village. He appeared to be a lonely boy,” the official said.

The official also claimed that the boy frequently witnessed heated arguments between his parents that sometimes turned physical.

“His environment was not healthy. Perhaps that contributed to the way he acted,” the official said, while stressing that such circumstances “should never justify what he did to innocent students.”

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Asked whether the teenager had been involved in illegal drugs, the official said he had no information to support such a claim.

The 14-year-old suspect and his 15-year-old schoolmate opened fire on campus last June 22 which resulted in the deth of three students and injuries to at least 20 others.

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They are under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and staying at a government-run rehabilitation facility while legal proceedings continue under the country’s juvenile justice laws. /gsg

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