By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Following a shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Tuesday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) swiftly acted upon the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to this tragic event.
Upon learning of the incident, Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno immediately ordered the relief and preventive suspension of the Customs Police personnel who owns the firearms allegedly used by the student involved, pending the results of a thorough investigation.
Nepomuceno also directed the Deputy Commissioners and all concerned personnel to fully cooperate with proper authorities, as well as in the conduct of comprehensive accounting and inventory of all issued firearms across the Bureau.
He likewise called on all concerned units to produce compliance reports of BOC policies and issuances on gun safety, firearm custody, transport, carrying, storage, and safekeeping within 24 hours.
BOC Deputy Commissioner Nolasco Bathan, meanwhile, confirmed one of the firearms used in the incident, “I can confirm that the gun used—the Glock—was a BOC-issued firearm, while the other one was his personal firearm but was licensed, based on verification and certification from the Philippine National Police’s Firearms and Explosives Office. The one issued by the BOC is the Glock pistol—the Glock 22, .40 caliber.”
The BOC-issued firearm was issued to Zamboanga port Enforcement and Security Services District Commander Lt. Lars Jalani, who is also the father of the suspect. He has since been relieved from his post after the incident took place.
The shooting incident was livestreamed on social media early Tuesday, with footage from a body-mounted camera showing a first-person POV of the assailant as he navigated the school premises and struck fear and terror among other students and teachers, eventually leading to the demise of two students—including the perpetrator himself.
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