A TRAGIC incident in Las Piñas City on Friday, April 11, claimed the lives of two Grade 8 students who were fatally stabbed by three fellow students. The incident, which occurred near the victims’ school along Balikatan Street, Barangay CAA, stemmed from a misunderstanding that escalated into a fatal altercation.
Police Col. Sandro Jay Tafalla, head of the Las Piñas City Police Station, explained, “There was a misunderstanding inside the school… When they went out, the victims were stabbed.”
Investigator-On-Case PSSg Neptali Maliclic revealed that an argument had erupted between one of the victims and a 15-year-old Grade 9 student, identified as a Child in Conflict with the Law (CICL), inside the school’s restroom around 4 PM.
“According to one of our witnesses, they argued over the light,” PSSg Maliclic said. “One of the victims kept turning the light on and off, and since the CICL was a year older, he might have felt offended and they got into an argument.”
Reports indicate that the other victim, a cousin of the student involved in the initial altercation, was simply picking him up from school when they were ambushed.
“They were attacked suddenly and unexpectedly,” PSSg Maliclic recounted. “The first victim (the cousin who was picking him up) was stabbed in the left lateral neck. He was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead.”
Tragically, the victim who had been involved in the earlier argument with the CICL also succumbed to his injuries.
According to reports, the two other CICLs involved in the incident, a 14-year-old Grade 7 student and a 16-year-old Grade 10 student, were not in school on the day of the incident.
“They weren’t in school. In fact, they were in different grade levels and ages. They just knew each other because they lived in the same area,” Maliclic explained.
The families of the victims are demanding justice. Meanwhile, Police Col. Tafalla and PSSg Maliclic confirmed that the CICLs were surrendered to the authorities by their parents.
“We convinced the parents to cooperate, and they eventually surrendered their children due to our negotiations with them,” PCol. Tafalla stated.
The CICLs will be sent to Bahay Pag-asa in Las Piñas City.
“The process for handling children in conflict is different from that of regular suspects,” Maliclic explained.
“They will face charges of murder. We will determine the specific crime, but they will definitely be charged with either homicide or murder, depending on the circumstances we gather during the investigation,” Tafalla stated.
