Two dead, two others wounded
Two unidentified bodies were found with gunshot wounds while two others were wounded in four separate shooting incidents in Cebu City and Minglanilla town last Monday.
An unidentified victim was found dead with two gunshot wounds in Villagonzalo II, Barangay Tejero, Cebu City, around 4:45 a.m., Monday.
The lifeless body was discovered by Roel Basnillo Cabahug, 65, and a resident of said place.
Cabahug told police that after he heard two bursts of gunfire, he immediately went outside his house and saw the victim already lying on the ground.
On the spot investigation from the Cebu City Police Office - Crime Against Persons Unit and the Cebu City Emergency Medical Services showed that the victim was hit on his left wrist and left armpit which may have caused his immediate death.
In Minglanilla, another body riddled with gunshot wounds was found in a riverbank in Barangay Manduang, around 4 a.m. Monday.
The victim was identified as Wilven Larrobis Sasan, a 35-year-old passenger jeepney driver with a live-in partner and a resident of Barangay Manduang.
Police Officer 3 Alfredo Pagaling of Minglanilla Police Station said that when they arrived at the riverbank, he saw that the dead body of Sasan had multiple gunshot wounds on his head and body from a yet unknown caliber of firearm.
Nearby residents reported that they heard successive bursts of gunfire coming from the riverbank, followed by the sound of a motorcycle speeding away.
Police Superintendent Dexter Maleza Calacar, Minglanilla Chief of Police, said that the possible motive for the shooting might be jealousy instead of being drugrelated.
In another shooting incident Monday morning at B. Rodriguez Extension, Barangay Sambag II, Cebu City, Jessel Abrahan Tarraja, 34, and a resident of 42 M. Riverside Extension, was wounded after he was shot by a man with whom he had an argument with.
The suspect, identified as Rogelio Antigua Maratas Jr., 47, and a resident of 191 Riverside, shot the victim twice with a firearm of yet undetermined caliber while the latter was fetching water from an artesian well.
Although wounded, the victim was able to wrestle the gun away from Maratas.
Jessel’s siblings and neighbors noticed the commotion and came to Jessel’s aid. They caught the suspect as he was attempting to escape and beat him up until he was rendered unconscious
As Jessel was rushed to Chong Hua Hospital for medication, Maratas woke up and sneaked off, managing to evade arrest.
The firearm used by Maratas has been turned over to police.
The victim’s brother, Jylven Tarraja, said that earlier Jessel had a fiery argument about a personal matter with the suspect. The argument reportedly escalated into a fistfight where Jessel defeated Maratas.
In Kabugohan, Barangay To-ong Cebu City, a man sustained a gunshot wound on his left abdomen after he was shot for no apparent reason last Monday.
The victim, Ernesto Jabonito, 57, said he was just feeding his chicken when the suspect, Cristino Sasotil, 36, a resident of Badiang, Barangay To-ong, suddenly came out from behind the shrubs he had been hiding in and shot at Jabonito.
Jabonito asserted that he could not determine any valid reason or provocation for Sasotil’s actions.
After shooting Jabonito, the suspect immediately ran away but was caught during the hot pursuit operation conducted by personnel from the Crime Against Persons Unit.