A 6-year-old boy in Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet died after he accidentally shot himself with a home-made gun. These types of firearms are commonly referred to in the local vernacular as "paltik". The incident happened last Wednesday (September 24).
The young victim has been identified as Clezar Jones Mangoyao. He was a grade 1 pupil at the Central Buyagan Elementary School. According to a police report, the accidental shooting happened at the apartment where the victim and his mother, Leticia Mangoyao, 45, were staying.
The boy was reportedly playing inside his room when he saw the gun, mistook it for a toy, and started playing with it. That's when it went off and struck him on his chest. He was rushed to the nearby Benguet General Hospital but he passed away.
According to the mother, she doesn't own the "paltik". She said that it's owned by someone named Dave Denver Tindo who is from Bakun, Benguet and that it was given to her for safekeeping.
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| La Trinidad, Benguet |
