ILOILO – Three gunmen on a motorcycle ambushed a tricycle loaded with six persons past midnight yesterday in Barangay Dalicanan, Passi City. One man died while two others were injured.
The casualty was 36-year-old Afrantes Ararilla of Barangay Dalicanan. He died of a gunshot wound on the head.
The two injured men were Ludovico Claridad, 35, and Joebert Mandate, the 37-year-old tricycle driver. Both were residents of Barangay Dalicanan, too.
All the tricycle passengers were bound home from the public plaza when attacked around 1 a.m., according to Superintendent Arturo Fullero, Passi City police chief.
Mandate sustained a gunshot wound on his right upper arm near the armpit while Claridad got hit on his shoulder. Both were taken to the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
From what the Passi City police so far gathered, the gunmen followed the tricycle from the plaza.
“The gunmen fired at the tricycle several times,” said Fullero.
The gunmen’s identities and motive remained unclear as of this writing.
“Baka narining ng mga gunmen na may nagsabi sa mga victims na lasing ang mga sakay ng motor. Baka nagalit,” said Fullero.
Responding policemen failed to recover from the ambush site spent bullet shells which could have helped in the determination of the gun used on the victims.
Investigation is ongoing./PN
