GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/02 June) — Two more persons were separately gunned down by unidentified motorcycle-riding suspects here on Saturday night, bringing the number of unsolved murders in the city to seven in one week.
Senior Supt. Froilan Quidilla, acting city police director, said in a report that the latest killings involved a street peddler of pirated video products at the city’s downtown area and another unidentified man from Barangay Fatima here.
He said the first incident happened at past 7 p.m. near an eatery at the corner of Mansanitas Street and P. Acharon Boulevard.
A police report said the victim, who was identified as Randy Bayang, 25, was shot dead by two suspects riding in an unmarked red Honda Wave motorycle.
It said Bayang was reportedly a peddler of pirated VCD/DVD and other products and listed as a resident of Alabel town in Sarangani province.
Responding police investigators found a spent shell of .45 caliber handgun at the scene of the incident, which was the third that ensued this week along P.
Acharon Blvd.
Several bystanders who witnessed the shooting incident claimed that one of the suspects appeared to be a woman.
The second incident was recorded at past 8 p.m. on Saturday near Zone 8, Block 11 of Barangay Fatima.
The still unidentified victim, who was wearing a tee-shirt and trousers, had just emerged from a store in the area when two motorcycle-riding suspects approached and shot him several times.
Three persons were gunned down on Sunday, May 26. The next evening, a woman identified as Zenaida Raki was gunned down near the entrance of the General Santos City Park along P. Acharon Blvd.
A worker of a vulcanizing shop was also shot dead late Wednesday night at a portion of the same road near the city’s central public market.
Supt. Rolly Octavio, deputy city police director for operations, earlier said that some of the victims appeared to have links with groups involved in the illegal drug trade and could have been casualties of a local “drug war.”
He said they have intensified their security patrols and random inspections on motorists within the city in the wake of the daring murders.
He said the heightened operations were part of the continuing implementation of operation plans (Oplans) “Sita” and “Kapkap,” which were earlier adopted by the city police to curb the rising cases of shooting incidents and other related street crimes in the area.
(Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
