Tacloban school shooting: Minor allegedly broke into aunt’s house to get gun

In the fatal school shooting in Tacloban City, it is alleged that a minor suspect, identified as "Nash," broke into the house of his aunt, a non-commissioned police officer, to steal the firearm used in the incident. The Philippine National Police (PNP) is investigating the matter. Police Staff Sergeant Arla Ray Paciencia testified before a Senate probe that Nash unlawfully entered her house and forcibly damaged her locker to take the 9mm Glock pistol. She admitted to storing the firearm in a plastic locker, which deviates from the standard safety vault requirement for gun ownership. Paciencia stated she believed it was safe as she lived alone. Nash, 14, and another minor, "Rod," 15, have been arrested and are in the custody of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth. Nash, being 14, is exempt from criminal liability but will undergo an intervention program. Paciencia clarified that she had only taken Nash to a firing range once, and that he aspired to be a police officer like her. She described Nash as introverted, spending long hours on his phone and preferring solitude. Initial police investigations suggest the two minors may have planned the attack, with influences from violent online content and the online game "Gorebox" being examined. Paciencia noted that Nash was a happier child before puberty and that she acted as an aunt, providing supervision and financial support, particularly as his parents were unemployed and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Senators emphasized the responsibility of gun owners to prevent children's exposure to firearms, suggesting that such exposure could have influenced the minor's actions.