For the past few months, the world has seen a spate of shooting incidents in Europe and Japan. With the mass amount of casualties that often arise, there has been frequent discussion about the issue of gun safety.
Recently, another shooting occurred, but this time in Southeast Asia. A gunman recently opened fire at a graduation ceremony at a Philippines university, killing three and injuring two others.
Among the three was Rose Furigay, a former city mayor in the southern province of Basilan. The incident is believed to be a targeted assassination of her.
Reuters reports that the incident occurred on Sunday (24 July) during a graduation ceremony at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City near Manila.
The shooting resulted in around five casualties, with three dead and two more injured.
Among those killed was the former mayor of the southern Lamitan City, Rose Furigay. She had been attending the ceremony for her daughter when the gunman opened fire.
Source: City Government of Lamitan on Facebook
The two others killed were a campus security guard and Furigay’s executive assistant. According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Furigay’s daughter had also suffered injuries from the shootout and is now undergoing treatment in a hospital.
The Straits Times (ST) reports that the Supreme Court of Justice was supposed to attend the ceremony. After the shooting, the university cancelled the event.
Fortunately, authorities have managed to arrest the suspect.
Source: Associated Press
According to ST, the gunman escaped by forcing a driver out of their vehicle after a shootout with a campus security officer.
He then abandoned the vehicle and continued to flee in a jeepney. Authorities gave chase and finally managed to detain him near a church.
They additionally found two handguns and a silencer on him, leading Medina to comment that the suspect was a “determined assassin”.
Police have also identified the suspect as Chao-Tiao Yumol, who had no relatives at the graduation and had a “long history” of legal disputes with Ms Furigay.
He accused Ms Furigay of being a drug lord while police officers presented him to reporters.
At the time of the incident, ST reports that Yumol was on bail for a cyber-libel charge. He is now in custody and undergoing interrogation as well.
Major officials condemned the attack as a needlessly violent occurrence.
Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte said,
This kind of incident has no place in our society and must be condemned to the highest level.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr also condemned the attack, stating, “We commit our law enforcement agencies to thoroughly and swiftly investigate these killings and bring all involved to justice.”
On 25 Jul, a day after the incident, the city government of Lamitan lowered its flag to half-mast as a sign of mourning for Ms Furigay and her assistant.
Source: City Government of Lamitan on Facebook
With the rarity of shooting incidents in Asian regions, this news is pretty shocking for us to witness.
It is also heartbreaking to have such a joyful ceremony turn into one of senseless violence and tragedy.
Hopefully, authorities will manage to enact the right amount of justice for all who have suffered on this day.
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Featured image adapted from Associated Press.
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