The American co-owner of the Philippine-based website linked to the mass shooting in the United States has already left the country, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.
Citing reports he received from the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Guevarra said Jimmy Ray Watkins, the co-owner of the website 8chan, left the Philippines last May 9.
Meanwhile, Guevarra said the BI is also checking if Watkin’s son and website co-owner, Ronald, is still in the country considering the name “Ronald Watkins” is a very common name.
“Ronald Watkins, common name po, marami po sila na iba-iba ang passport number at DOB (date of birth) po,” he noted.
Last Monday (US time), a 21-year-old gunman went on a shooting spree in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people.
The gunman was reportedly a white supremacist who reportedly expressed his anger against immigrants, especially Latin Americans, in the website 8chan.
The Texas shooting was the third attack this year known to have been perpetrated by a suspect who posted comments on the website.
The website was created by Philippine-based American Frederick Brennan, a wheelchair-bound victim of brittle bone disease, as an online message board for free speech but gave up its control back in 2015 to Jimmy Watkins and his son.
Citing BI reports, Guevarra said Brennen has remained in the country since July 1, 2017 with a working visa. (Jeffrey Damicog)
