Female jeepney passenger in Binangonan, Rizal hit by stray airsoft gun pellet

A female jeepney passenger suffered a wound near her spine after she was hit by a stray pellet from an airsoft gun while inside a jeepney in Binangonan, Rizal. 

According to Joseph Morong’s report in “24 Oras” on Monday, Claudette Jacobo said she was riding a jeepney on her way to work last Friday when the incident happened. 

“Akala ko nung una, may bumato lang sa akin,” she said. 

(I thought at first that someone just threw something at me.) 

“Hindi ko siya pinapansin nung una. Pero bigla siyang namanhid kaya kinuha ko yung bimpo ko sa bag, pinunas ko po. Nagulat po ako may dugo. Sunod na akala ko po, nasaksak po ako ng ice pick,” Jacobo added. 

(I wasn’t paying attention to it at first. But then it suddenly felt numb, so I got my face towel from my bag and wiped it. I was shocked to see blood. I thought I was stabbed with an ice pick.) 

The jeepney driver accompanied her to the police outpost. She was later brought to the hospital for treatment.

The X-ray findings showed that she was shot, while police said the victim was hit with an airsoft gun pellet.

“Pasalamat na lang din po talaga ako dahil sa likod lang siya tumama, hindi sa batok or sa ulo po. Dahil sabi din sa akin nung pulis, kung tumama ‘yun sa ulo ko or sa batok, baka wala na po ako ngayon,” said Jacobo. 

(I am truly thankful that it only hit my back and not my nape or my head. Because the police officer also told me that if it had hit my head or my nape, I might not be alive now.) 

While she is out of danger, Jacobo said she still experiences pain as the airsoft gun pellet is still embedded on her back.

“Sabi po nung tumingin sa akin na surgeon, aantayin daw po siyang umangat then saka lang siya ooperahin, tatanggalin,” she said. 

(The surgeon who checked on me said they will wait for it to rise to the surface first, and only then will they operate on it and remove it.) 

Meanwhile, the Binangonan Municipal Police Station said they are still investigating who could be behind the incident. 

Jacobo said other individuals shared similar experiences of being hit with airsoft gun pellets on her social media post on the incident.

A netizen said she was hit with an airsoft gun pellet on the leg last March in Angono, Rizal, while another netizen said a sibling was hit with a pellet during the New Year revelry in Binangonan. 

Jacobo urged the Binangonan municipal government to confiscate airguns amid the recent cases of stray pellets hitting individuals.

“Baka may mga nangti-trip… Ang pakiusap ko po na sana mabigyan ng hustisya yung nangyari sa akin,” she said. 

(Maybe some people are just playing a prank… My plea is that I will be given justice for what happened to me.)

GMA Integrated News is still reaching out to the Binangonan local government unit (LGU) for a comment. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/JMA, GMA Integrated News