Man who reloaded Filipino shooter's gun charged

A relative of a shooting victim cleans the bloodstains from a house following a shooting rampage in Kawit township, Cavite province, south of Manila, Philippines Friday Jan. 4, 2013. A man who was apparently intoxicated fatally shot eight people, including a child who tried to shield herself behind seat cushions, before he was gunned down by police. / AP Photo/Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines A house caretaker who reloaded the pistol of a man who went on a shooting rampage near Manila that left nine people dead is facing multiple murder charges, officials said Saturday.

John Paul Lopez, who worked for the gunman, Ronald Bae, surrendered to authorities late Friday, hours after the rampage, which left eight victims and the gunman dead, said Cavite provincial deputy police chief Dionicio Borromeo.

Eleven people were wounded in the incident in Cavite province's Kawit township, about 10 miles south of Manila.

The carnage occurred just days after the death of a 7-year-old girl who was hit in the head by a stray bullet during New Year's Eve revelry in Manila, sparking public criticism over lax gun control in the Philippines. Friday's rampage fueled pressure for more assertive action by authorities to deal with unlicensed firearms.

"This is really one of the worst shooting incidents in the Philippines, after the Maguindanao massacre," Borromeo said, referring to the November 2009 killing of 54 people, including 32 media workers, allegedly by followers of a powerful political clan in the southern Philippines.

Borromeo said Lopez, 27, explained that Bae, 41, had threatened to kill him if he did not reload bullets into the magazines of a .45-caliber pistol used in the killing spree.

Borromeo, however, said Lopez never tried to stop Bae or talk him out of the rampage, whose victims included a pregnant woman and her young daughter and 7-year-old girl.

"We will file a case against him of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder," Borromeo said.

He also said the Kawit police chief and his deputy have been relieved of their posts by senior police officials while they are being investigated for allegedly not responding to reports that Bae had fired his weapon behind his house four days earlier. Borromeo said records and officers' testimonies indicated they received no such reports.

It was unclear what triggered the rampage, but Bae had a "marital problem" with his wife, whom he left in northern Pampanga province and returned to his old home in Kawit for the New Year, Cavite provincial Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.

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[MidRoadAlone]

bobnjersey replies:
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do newspapers and electronic communication cause 30,000 deaths a year?

you're an idiot.

The point was constitutional rights and slanted interpretations, not deaths.

So in my opinion, which is never wrong, just disagreed with - sometimes by intelligent and much more secure people than you are - you would appear to be the idiot.

[bobnjersey]

[The point was constitutional rights and slanted interpretations, not deaths.]
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no ... your point was a ridiculous comparison between guns rights ... that are killing people ... and freedom of expression ... which doesn't kill anyone.

but lets ignore the deaths completely ... since that makes you look less like a moron. shall we talk about car deaths as part of accidents next?

all rights are limited ... including speech and gun ownership.

are you part of the 'well regulated militia' ... or just a rogue blowhard making azzinine comparisons between different rights stipulated in the constitution?

[DavidPowell3006]

"I will kill you if you don't reload my gun!"

How, throw the empty gun at them? Facepalm....

Better yet, when the guy hands the gun to you to reload it, TAKE THE GUN! If there are no bullets, hit the nad guy with it or run away from him! If there are bullets in it, SHOOT HIM, DON'T HAND IT BACK! COME ON!

[CuriousServant]

Please read the article carefully before making such silly statements. The reloading did to occur where the shooting took place. There is no indication that the killer was unarmed when he made the demand of his house caretaker.

[ThomasSense]

Once the guns are sold, it is hard to get them out of circulation. I don't understand why civilized people want to return to the wild west. "The proliferation of firearms has long fueled crime, political violence and Muslim and communist insurgencies that have raged for decades in parts of the country."

[traxing1]

they need to ban guns there

[rheola-2009]

Nobodyhasthisname

Check you facts old fellow, the Pillipines have similar gun control laws [lack of] to the U.S.

Or maybe you knew that, but it suits your bias to spread lies.

Many people in the Phillipines have been asking their government to install similar gun control laws to those in Australia, Japan, England etc.

The gun related deaths in those countries are a fraction of what they are in America and the Phillipines.

GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND.

[scalini1]

Since guns are illegal for private possession in the Philippines, gun control worked wonders in this situation. Instead of owning a gun for protection, I guess you should hide behind a seat cushion and wait to die.
A large portion of Americans are now panty-waisted liberals who dream of a weapons-free utopia provided by the government. How's that workin' out for ya?

[CuriousServant]

First... Are you suggesting that family members sit around wearing a gun on their belts in case another family member drinks and pulls one out so you can return fire?

Second... Are you suggesting an 8 year old girl should be licensed to carry a gun and shes hould have used it instead of hiding?

[CuriousServant]

First, I want to state I do not wish to infringe on anyone's 2nd Amendment rights.

Since Newtown,CT I've been wondering what I would do in such a situation. I do not believe killing is right, almost under ANY circumstances. I have my doubts though. I think about the evil loose in the world during WWII and if there was ever a war that needed to be fought, it was that one.

I am a Christian. Actually, a Christ follower. My Lord, capable of anything, meekly let Himself be put to death. I might have that much courage, but it is difficult to say.

But, what would I do if I were at Sandy Hook Elementary that day, or Clackamas Town Center (it's only 20 minutes from here)? I would not want to kill that gunman, but I would want to do everything I could possibly do to stop him.

Should we do as the NRA suggests? More security? More guns? More violence? Does that match with my beliefs? If I believe it is wrong to kill, even to the point of rather dying than killing, is it any better to endorse killing by proxy by training and hiring others willing to do it for me?

Are there any other alternatives?

I awoke last night with a thought. If there were others like me, willing to rush the gunman, certainly one of us would be able to tackle him, and not kill. (And before some of you start telling me how stupid I am, consider we honor those who throw themselves on grenades for others.)

Is there something I could do to help me get to him? Would grabbing a trash can as a shield help? What if there were shields around? What if there were kevlar shields with little windows in the same places we would put security? And what if there were built in tasers on those shields?

I know, this sounds a little absurd... But imagine... what if it were so socially unacceptable to kill that all those with the courage to grab a gun and kill a bad guy had the same courage to grab a shield and subdue a bad guy? What if we made a statement to ourselves, as a society, that killing is wrong, in every form, and we were willing to do ANYTHING to avoid it?

That is the real point I want to make What if we felt so strongly that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" is a commandment worthy of obedience? Right up to the point that we would be willing to shuffle off this mortal coil so we could face our maker without that sin on our souls?

Perhaps the shield idea is absurd (if it is I am certain many will be willing to point out how), butit WOUD be cheaper than armed guards, and it would be encouraging our society to look hard at violence in all forms.

Speaking of which, for those good folks who want to have guns, I haven't a problem with it... There are other elements of this debate besides banning assault weapons. The violence in movies and video games for example.

But, that is another point, another comment.

I'm just saying, I do not believe in killing, and perhaps there is a way I could help in such a situation if the proper tools were available.

[CuriousServant]

I am not suggesting I sit and watch them die. Please reread my comment.

[ThomasSense]

Nobody: It is not suggested to "sit and watch." The point being made is how to be enabled to effectively deal with the situation. In school, we lock our doors. No one could get through my classroom door. I don't know why that didn't happen at Sandy Hook. It wasn't due to lack of bravery.

Servant: Taking lethal or nonlethal action outside the classroom leaves the students at risk and adds confusion when police arrive. The best action is to "lock down."

In the Philippine tragedy, it shows that having a limit on a magazine would make a difference in outcomes.

[weathermon]

The media who does not understand guns at all typically likes to throw in a dig for more gun control. Really, how would that have mattered here? So he was registered..so what?? The shame is that nobody else with a gun was around to shoot him early. The guy who was forced to reload? I don't see it. The shooter is the shooter. He committed the crime and now he is dead.

[Gunz2Fun]

But Wait, This sort of thing only happens in America not in the rest of the Civilized world (according to the Dim-o-Rats and the Liberal news rags)

[CuriousServant]

I missed any of those comments. I never read anyone's comment that it never happens any where else. Poerhaps you missed a point there... Perhaps I did.

[traxing1]

ummm they CONSTANTLY point to the REST OF THE CIVILIZED world and the lowered non existent gun violence rate, so yeah, get out from under the rock, u missed it

[Passing_trucker]

Perhaps the solution is to limit citizens to 6-round revolvers and bolt action rifles. The 45 semi auto allows faster reload; if he was armed with a revolver, others could have rushed him while he was trying to reload.

[MidRoadAlone]

I think we should also limit freedom speech and of the press.

People should only be allowed to speak in public standing on a soapbox and news should only be from a gutenberg press, as the framers of the constitution intended.

That way we wouldn't have all of the disagreements on these comments pages.

[bobnjersey]

[People should only be allowed to speak in public standing on a soapbox and news should only be from a gutenberg press, as the framers of the constitution intended.]
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do newspapers and electronic communication cause 30,000 deaths a year?

you're an idiot.

[chris76543]

Hmm - seems the reloader would have had the upper hand when he was reloading the gun, but even if he'd used it to march the nutcase to the police station (or held it on the nutcase after calling cops, until they arrived) the cops wouldn't do anything because there was no evidence of a crime. If he'd have shot the nutcase (best solution), he'd have gotten in trouble. I guess solution would have been to load the gun, ask the nutcase what he planned to do, not give the nutcase the gun, then wait until the nutcase became enraged/threatened the loader, who could then shoot the nutcase out of "fear for life" but he would probably still end up in legal trouble. Hard call, and sorry he got in such a jam. VERY SORRY FOR THE DEATHS of innocent people, but it's hard to stop these kinds of incidents when nutcases can get guns.

[Passing_trucker]

The gun is a 45 semi auto, which takes a 10-round magazine. Shooter threatened houseboy to reload the magazine, or he'll use the last remaining round in firing chamber to kill him. A 45 semi auto will hold one round in firing chamber & 10 rounds in magazine, for a total of 11 rounds. Houseboy should have run while shooter's attention was diverted on killing other victims.