Monday, July 19, 2004 Man kills drinking buddy then shoots self in head By ALLAN I. VARQUEZ Sun.Star Staff Reporter
NEVER talk about an old grudge over some bottles of beer. It could prove tragic.
Two drinking buddies died yesterday after a fight that provoked one to shoot the other, before shooting himself in the head in Barangay Suba-Basbas, Lapu-Lapu City.
The reason for their fight: an old dispute on the division of cash they got from a Japanese tourist.
Dimetrio Piveda Jr., 33, and Danilo Aro, 29, were off to a jolly start when Aro invited Piveda to join him for beer past 12 noon.
SPO1 Nicanor Bacayo of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office said anger tainted the otherwise friendly atmosphere when Aro began talking about an old grudge.
Cop brother
Unable to hold his temper, Aro pulled out a .38 revolver and fired four shots, hitting Piveda in the back and stomach.
The gunshots drew Piveda’s brother, SPO1 Eduardo Piveda, who lives in the area and was outside his house when the shooting began. He rushed to help his brother, but Aro aimed the gun at him, prompting him to run for safety.
Eduardo also could not confront Aro because the policeman was still recuperating from a broken left arm from a motorcycle accident last month.
Aro reportedly walked a few meters from where he shot Piveda, then shot himself in the head. A .38 revolver with five spent bullets was recovered beside him.
Homicide investigator SPO2 Rolito Jumao-as said the two were already unconscious and bathed in blood when he and other policemen arrived.
He said Piveda had arrived with some gallons of water on his tricycle when Aro met him and invited him for some drinks.
“Nagsukad ilang away sa wala maayo pagkabahin nga suhol sa turistang Hapon kay kanang duha may gitabangan na nga Hapon kaniadto (They had quarreled before about how they would split their fee from a Japanese tourist, whom they helped),” Jumao-as said.
Piveda was brought to the Mactan Doctors’ Hospital and Aro to the Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital, but both were pronounced dead on arrival.
Stray bullet
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy was accidentally hit by a bullet while playing near a group of male neighbors, who were betting on a hantak game in Sitio Langob, Barangay Poblacion.
The gun owner, Dominador Tumulak, took out his gun from his waistband and showed it to his fellow bettor, when it suddenly went off, hitting Joseph Pinote in left shoulder.
The bullet exited below the boy’s armpit.
SPO1 Bacayo said Tumulak fled after the incident and was still at large, while Pinote was rushed to the Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital and was later transferred to a hospital in Cebu City.
He said a police team was sent but failed to track down Tumulak in his home.
(July 19, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
