Calamba, Laguna police have released photos of the suspect in yesterday’s killing of a 15-year-old Grade 7 student.
The police posted photos of suspect Renan E. Valderama on Facebook today. The suspect is allegedly the guardian of victim Mark Anthony Miranda. He is now the subject of an ongoing manhunt operation.
In its Facebook post, the police asked the public to give any information related to Valderama’s whereabouts and provided two numbers for potential informants to call.
In a follow-up post that appeared today, Calamba police warned the public that the suspect is armed and dangerous. They again asked the public to provide any information regarding his whereabouts.
Mark Anthony was in one of the classrooms in Castor Alviar National High School yesterday afternoon when Valderama arrived and allegedly shot him twice.
The victim was first declared brain dead by doctors but eventually died at around 4:09pm, reported The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The suspect and the victim were allegedly in a relationship and lived together but according to the police, Mark Anthony had filed sexual abuse complaints against Valderama, who is estimated to be around 30 to 35 years old, CNN Philippines reported.
According to the Calamba police, Valderama had been Mark Anthony’s guardian ever since the boy’s mother was detained for possession of illegal drugs. Because he was the student’s registered guardian, students and teachers were familiar with Valderama which allegedly made it easy for him to enter the school.
The classroom where the teenager was shot was located just 15 feet away from the school’s entrance. The police are now studying if the school should face any liability in connection to Mark Anthony’s death.
In light of the killing, the Department of Education (DepEd) assured parents that the crime was an isolated case and that there was nothing for them to worry about, reported RMN. At the same time, the DepEd said it’s investigating reports alleging that there was no security personnel inside the school when the crime happened.
