OMG!!! 5-year old girl involved in drug war

A 5-year-old girl has become the youngest
reported victim of the war on drugs in the
Philippines, according to Human Rights Watch.
Danica May Garcia was shot to death in her
family's store by two men on motorcycles, said
police in Dagupan in Pangasinan province.
Their likely target? The girl's grandfather,
according to a local official.
A community leader said that days before the
shooting, the grandfather, Maximo Garcia, had
turned himself in to police in an effort to clear
his name, along with about a dozen accused
drug users.
Garcia eventually returned to the family. The
grandfather was later shot three times and
injured, police said. He is in a hospital under
police guard.
"We have a witness who came forward to
identify the gunman," Dagupan police Chief Neil
Miro told CNN. "I will withhold the name of the
suspect, but it seems it may have something to
do with illegal drugs, too.
"We are still investigating the real motive, but
since Maximo Garcia surrendered last Friday for
drug use, we have reason to believe the attack
was related to his drug activities."
Authorities would not say it was vigilantism,
however.
Those suspected of involvement in the illegal
drug trade have become targets of a national war
on drugs that Philippines President Rodrigo
Duterte launched after assuming office June 30.
Human Rights Watch reports that more than
1,000 Filipinos have been killed by unidentified
gunmen between July 1 and August 19. And
since Duterte took office, the national police
chief says more than 700 drug users and
"pushers" have been killed in police operations.
Duterte has been relentless in his pursuit of
tackling crime -- though his critics say he often
oversteps the mark.
He has said that his tenure would see the end of
crime, and has even said he would not oppose
his police force or even citizens taking the lives
of criminals.
In a nationally televised speech in June, Duterte,
the president-elect, told citizens, "If (a criminal)
fights, and he fights to the death, you can kill
him."
He added, "Please feel free to call us, the police,
or do it yourself if you have the gun ... you have
my support."
In June, Duterte put a bounty of up to 3 million
Philippine pesos ($65,000) on drug lords -- which
he later increased to 5 million pesos ($108,000).
Police told CNN that Danica is not the first child
victim, but that she could be the youngest. They
also noted it was not a police operation.
"I hope they will not blame the current campaign
on drugs for the deaths of these minors," Senior
Superintendent Dionard Carlos, a police
spokesman, told CNN.
"Instead let us work together to make those
responsible answer for the crime they did and
give justice to the victims and their families."
Earlier this month, the United Nations urged the
Philippines to stop unlawful killings of people
suspected of drug-related offenses.

Source:cable news network 

Edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE