Police are hunting down a spa security guard who shot dead Thursday noon a handsome Grade 7 student inside a classroom at Castor Alviar National High School in Barangay Masili, Calamba City, Laguna.
Lt. Col. Jacinto Malinao, Calamba police chief, identified the suspect as Renan Valderama alias Renz, legal age.
According to police, Valderama was the estranged lover of the victim identified as Mark Anthony Miranda, 15, a resident of Barangay Pansol.
“Right now we are exerting all efforts to arrest the suspect,” Malinao said in a radio interview Friday.
Initial investigation showed that Miranda was in his classroom when the suspect suddenly barged in and shot him in the head at close range in front of his horrified classmates. The incident happened around 12:30 p.m.
“They were in the middle of a lunch break and the victim was fixing himself in front of a mirror when the suspect entered the room,” Malinao narrated.
The victim sustained a gunshot wound in the back of the head, Malinao said. The suspect fled on foot after the incident.
Miranda was rushed to HelthServ Los Banos Medical Center where he was initially assessed as brain dead. He expired at 4:09 p.m., according to attending doctors.
Police have yet to determine the motive behind the killing, but investigators were looking closely at the sexual abuse charges filed by the victim against the suspect.
Probers learned that Valderama and Miranda used to live together since the suspect was supporting the studies of the victim.
Police said the victim’s mother, Christina, is currently detained on drug-related charges.
It was not clear how long the relationship between the two was going on, but police said Valderama and Miranda had a falling out when the suspect allegedly abused the victim, prompting the latter to file four counts of sexual abuse against his lover.
“Based in our research, the young man filed sexual abuse charges against the suspect. According to the affidavit of the victim, he was abused during one instance that they were in the house of the suspect,” Malinao said.
The incident allegedly happened in March of this year.
“The suspect threatened the victim not to tell the police what happened and in exchange, he would continue supporting his studies,” Malinao added.
However, the victim decided to leave the house of the suspect and live with another guardian who encouraged him to file the charge against the suspect .
Police will also include in their investigation the possible liabilities of the school management.
Malinao said they have coordinated with school authorities to determine how the suspect managed to enter the compound with a gun concealed in his backpack.
He said it was likely that the gun used by the suspect was his service firearm.
Police have also checked closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in nearby establishments to track down the possible route of the suspect. (Martin Sadongdong, Danny Estacio)
