An 80-year-old grandfather shot dead his wife and his mentally-challenged grandson before pumping a bullet into his head at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City Thursday afternoon, a police official said.
Mandaluyong City Police chief Colonel Moises Villaceran Jr. said the grandfather and his 27-year-old grandson, who was a mental patient for two years, died on the spot.
The elderly man’s 78-year-old wife died around 4:55 p.m. while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Investigation showed that the patient’s grandparents visited him around 2:43 p.m. at the visitors area, Ward 1, Pavilion 6 of the facility.
“The grandparents were frequent visitors of their grandson that is why they were familiar with the security personnel,” Villaceran said. He added that the gun was concealed inside a brown envelop.
According to Villaceran, two security groups were in charge of keeping the facility secure.
“One is a private security agency in charge of the entrances, gates and the roving of the area. They are equipped with firearms,” Villaceran said.
“Another is the internal security whose purpose is to secure the pavilions inside the facility where the patients are housed,” the police chief added.
Villaceran said that no other person were inside the ward but only the family members of the patient and the helpers who witnessed the incident.
Prior to the shooting, witnesses told probers that the family members were arguing regarding family matters when suddenly the grandfather pulled a .45-caliber pistol and shot his grandson, then his wife. He later pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger.
Probers recovered the gun, a magazine loaded with two live ammunition, a live bullet in the gun’s chamber, five spent shells and three slugs.
Villaceran said that the patient’s father claimed that he had warned the hospital personnel about his father prior to the incident.
The police chief added that the patient’s father requested not to have the bodies autopsied.
“I recommend that NCMH should fix their security lapses especially in the pavilions since not all purpose of visitors are good,” the police chief said.
In statement, the NCMH said “we are saddened by the tragic event that unfolded at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and we offer our condolences to the family of the victims.”
“Due to the sensitivities of the issue involving the patient, we ask for privacy for the bereaved family,” the NCMH said, adding that it “is committed to ensuring the safety of its patients and staff and is taking measures to tighten (the) security at the hospital.”
“We can confirm that no other patients and NCMH staff were hurt nor involved in the incident. The hospital is in full operation and functioning normally,” the NCMH added. (Aldrin Casinas)
