Friday, August 23, 2002
Gang member shoots teener
By Mia E. Abellana
MONTHS after police initiated talks with gangs to stop violence as a result of their rivalry, an out-of-school youth was shot allegedly by members of the Yoms gang Wednesday evening along Gen. Gines St. in Barangay Sawang Calero, Cebu City.
Ramon (not minor’s real name), 16, who was said to be a member of the Tumba Sikma Kulata (TSK) gang, was declared dead on arrival at the Cebu City Medical Center after sustaining a gunshot wound in his stomach.
Two pupils of the Sawang Calero Elementary School told Homicide Section police that two members of Yoms gang shot Ramon.
Ramon was reportedly hanging out with friends in the street at 10:30 p.m. when the two suspects approached them.
Without any provocation, one of the gang members allegedly shot Ramon and fled with his accomplice.
Last March, the Cebu City Police Office, then headed by Senior Insp. Lani-o Nerez, held a dialogue with gangs operating in the southern part of the city.
Invited to the dialogue were leaders of groups in Barangays San Nicolas, Abono-Pasil, Sawang Calero, Duljo-Fatima and White Road, Pardo.
Nerez and Cebu City Council police fire and penology committee chairman Procopio Fernandez met with gang leaders and parents and appealed to them to help authorities prevent violent clashes.
As a way to purge the onslaught of gang wars, Fernandez had also planned to hold a basketball tournament last summer to keep them out of trouble.
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