A 13-year-old boy was shot dead while selling balut (fertilized duck eggs) with his mother in Barangay Puelay, Villasis, Pangasinan.
The victim has been identified as Charles Edward Serquiña, the youngest among his siblings and a resident of the aforementioned village.
According to the report on “24 Oras” by GMA News correspondent Russel Simorio last Tuesday, Charles was with his mother, Carina, near a wake when the crime occurred.
Carina recounted that she had taken a moment to rest when assailants riding a motorcycle approached and shot her youngest child.
Charles was described as a kind and hardworking child by his grieving mother, who was left in disbelief as her family had no known enemies. It is suspected that the young boy might have been mistakenly targeted by the perpetrators.
Villasis Police Chief, Police Major Glenn Dulay, emphasized that the ongoing investigation is leaning towards mistaken identity as both the victim and his family had no known conflicts with anyone.
“The victim was a minor and as far as we know, the family had no enemies; this is the direction our investigation is taking,” Dulay said.
Friends and relatives of the victim are crying out for justice. Carina lamented over the brutal act, stating that the assailants didn’t even bother to identify their target properly, blindly taking the life of her very young son.
She expressed, “They just shot him suddenly. They didn’t even see who they were shooting at, whether it was a child or an adult. Look at my child, he was still so young.”
Charles’ sister, Necaella, made an emotional plea urging the killer to surrender.
“Whoever killed my brother, please surrender. We don’t want this. My brother was innocent, he didn’t know anything,” she implored.