A gunman shot dead three people and wounded several others when he opened fire in a crowded Philippine market on Friday, then was shot dead at the scene, police said.<\/p>\n
The shooter began firing a pistol at the market in Kawit town, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Manila, said district police chief Jaime Rollon.<\/p>\n
“He suddenly went berserk. He was just shooting at anyone, bystanders, market vendors. The first one wounded was one of his in-laws,” Rollon told AFP.<\/p>\n
Rollon said three people had been confirmed killed and at least two others wounded. Police were checking hospitals for other casualties, he added.<\/p>\n
Rollon identified the suspect as a local resident named Ronald Pae, but said his motive was not yet known.<\/p>\n
He said Pae was also shot dead at the market. However it was not yet clear who fired the bullet that killed him.<\/p>\n
Friday’s shooting comes amid a debate over the country’s lawless gun culture, which was sparked by the death of a seven-year-old girl who was shot in the head by celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve.<\/p>\n
Stephanie Ella and her father were watching a fireworks display outside their home in a Manila suburb on Monday when a bullet, fired by a person welcoming in the New Year, hit her.<\/p>\n
The death triggered outrage and condemnation of poor law enforcement that allows hundreds of thousands of unregistered firearms to be on the streets.<\/p>\n
“This incident should not be allowed to become just another statistic,” Vice President Jejomar Binay said in response to Ella’s death.<\/p>\n
“We have enough laws to penalise but the problem has always been in the enforcement of laws.”<\/p>\n
Rollon said it was unclear how Pae had obtained his weapon, but said it would have been easy for him to obtain one.<\/p>\n
“There are a lot of people with guns here. There are civilians with guns, even without official permits to carry. They can find a way,” he said.<\/p>\n
There were 1.2 million registered firearms in the Philippines as of last year, according to data from the police firearms and explosives office.<\/p>\n
It said there were another roughly 600,000 unlicensed firearms in circulation across the Philippines.<\/p>\n
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