Shooting victim burned beyond recognition

Sunday, September 18, 2011

MALASIQUI -- A man driving a sports utility vehicle was shot dead early morning Saturday by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen.

The victim’s identity though remains unknown as his body was burned beyond recognition when his vehicle burst into flames minutes after it crashed into a concrete fence.

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Initial police investigation showed that the shooting incident transpired around 3 a.m. Saturday in Barangay Cabatling, this town.

Liza Cabugawan, 53, said she was aroused from her sleep by three successive gunshots and by the sound of a motorcycle and another vehicle, prompting her to awaken her son Carlos.

When they peeped at their window, they saw the Ford Escape crash into the concrete fence of their neighbor.

While Carlos was about to check on the passenger of the vehicle, a certain Marlon, a butcher who was on his way to a slaughterhouse, stopped and they checked on the vehicle’s passenger with Marlon’s flashlight.

Moments later, the vehicle burst into flames, prompting Carlos and Marlon to run and seek help from the neighboring houses.

The responding policemen led by Malasiqui Deputy Police Chief Mario Estrada conducted hot pursuit operation but yielded negative result, while the firemen from the Malasiqui Fire Station put off the burning vehicle and reported the matter to the police.

Pangasinan Police Community Relations Officer Gerardo Roxas said the scene of the crime was properly secured by the Malasiqui police. Crime scene investigators later arrived and processed the area to gather evidences.

A request was also made to the Regional Crime Laboratory in San Fernando City, La Union for the conduct of autopsy on the victim.