A GANG leader was critically injured after he was shot by a member of their rival gang past 12 midnight on Friday, March 24, 2023 in Barangay Yati, Liloan town, northern Cebu.

Kenneth Bolhot, 19, single, leader of Crips Gang, who hails from Barangay Tilha-ong, Consolacion town, sustained a gunshot wound below his left armpit.

His companion, Daryle Seronio, 18, single, Crips Gang member and a motorcycle mechanic from Barangay San Vicente, Liloan, was unharmed when the suspect's gun malfunctioned on the second try.

Major Welther Grapa, chief of Liloan Police Station, told SunStar Cebu that Bolhot and Seronio were waiting for a jeepney ride home, along with four female friends, both students who are 17 years old, and another 19-year-old girl, when the riding-in-tandem suspects arrived and opened fire.

Grapa said Seronio and their female companions positively identified the members of their rival group as the perpetrators.

The suspects were named as Bloods Gang leader Vince Buhay, a roasted chicken trader and driver of the motorcycle, and his backrider, Bloods Gang member Kiven Libores, single, a butcher.

Buhay hails from Purok Mabini, while Libores is from Sitio Green Hills, both in Barangay Poblacion, Liloan town.

Buhay was arrested in a follow-up in his home at 4 a.m. of the same day, while Libores remains at large.

Grapa mentioned ongoing gang dispute as the motive for the crime.

He said both parties had a long-standing conflict.

"Kining biktima gipusil na nila sa una! Unya nakalihay man! Nahitabo nagbaharay gusto nga mobawos," Grapa explained.

(They already shot the victim before but missed. After that, the victim vowed to retaliate).

The suspects allegedly monitored the movements of the victims prior to the incident.

The suspects fled towards further north after the crime.

Grapa disclosed that they have now taken steps to prevent the conflicts between the two parties from getting worse. (GPL, TPT)