MANILA, Philippines — A 23-year-old described as a “special child” was shot dead early Tuesday morning in Quezon City in a hit similar to the thousands of murders that have marked the government’s war on drugs since last year.
Junjun Gadia was hanging out at the tricycle terminal on Pilot Drive, MRB Compound in Barangay Commonwealth past 4 a.m. when a man alighted from a motorcycle, walked over and shot him dead.
The killer then walked back to the waiting motorcycle driven by an accomplice.
The victim’s mother Sheila said her son, who she described as “uto-uto” (gullible) because of his condition, may have been duped into illegal acts.
“Kasi special po talaga si Junjun … ang kutob ko lang po baka meron po inutos sa kanya na hindi niya alam na ikakapahamak niya (Because Junjun is really a special child … my hunch is he had been asked to do things he did not know would endanger him),” she said.
