IN LESS than 24 hours, two were killed in the cities of Talisay and Bacolod, Negros Occidental on Friday, June 25 and Thursday, June 24, respectively.
Two days after an alleged “solvent-sniffing” minor was shot dead by his friend, another 14-year-old boy was gunned down in Bacolod City, this time by at least five armed men around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23.
Captain Elmer Bonilla, commander of Police Station 7, said Friday that the victim of Abada Escay Relocation Site in Barangay Vista Alegre was on his way home when a white L300 van blocked him.
Bonilla said the suspects, who were wearing bonnets, alighted from the vehicle and opened fire at the victim, who managed to run and fall near a creek.
The suspects then followed the victim and shot him again at close range causing his immediate death, the police official added.
Police recovered from the scene of the crime several empty cartridges of .45 caliber pistol.
A surveillance camera near the area captured the killing but the plate number of the suspects’ vehicles, Bonilla said, adding that they are looking into three angles as possible motives in the killing.
These are a family feud, illegal drug activities or a case of mistaken identity, he said.
Bonilla noted that the victim’s father is in jail for violation of illegal drugs while his uncle was previously charged with illegal drugs and murder. His family also has a pending barangay hearing for physical injury.
He said it is possible that the actual target of the killing was the victim’s uncle who was not around during the incident.
As of Friday, the victim’s uncle has not returned home.
This is the 11th shooting in Bacolod City since the start of the month, police records showed.
Meanwhile, Talisay City policemen are still at loss as to the identity of the man who was brutally killed and whose body was discovered at Hacienda Mana-ul in Barangay Matab-ang shortly after midnight Friday, June 24.
Captain Ramil Bustamante, Talisay City Police officer-in-charge, said they already sought the help of both the mainstream and social media so they could identify the victim.
Bustamante said the victim was killed in the area because they recovered two cartridge cases of a .40 caliber pistol and a slug of the same firearm at the crime scene.
“We are looking into the possibility of two or more suspects who did the crime but we don’t have a witness as there are no nearby houses,” Bustamante told Sunstar Bacolod.
Investigation showed that the victim’s face was wrapped with a cloth, both his hands were tied on his back and had no upper garment when his body was found.
The victim, clad in violet shorts, has a cross tattoo on his right calf, a tribal tattoo on his left leg, a "91" tattoo on his right arm, a clown tattoo on his back, "Thea Gabriel" tattoo on the right portion of his chest and "Richzion Chloe" Tattoo on the other.