BY CYRUS M. GARDE
BACOLOD City – A security guard of Munsterific convenience store was shot dead about 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in front of the University of St. La Salle, La Salle Avenue, Brgy. Villamonte here.
The victim was Ruperto Escaron, 32, of La Carlota City. He succumbed to a gunshot wound in the chest.
The attending physician of the Bacolod Doctors Hospital where Escaron was rushed declared him dead on arrival.
The store cashier who asked not to be identified for security reasons told police investigators that the gunman was a male store customer.
He had been staying at the store for over an hour and at one time even asked if he could charge his cell phone, the cashier said.
The suspect appeared to be very calculating in his movements. He managed to keep his face away from the security camera of the convenience store.
The cashier said the man left the store but later returned, and this time proceeded to the security guard sitting on a chair and shot the victim pointblank.
The culprit ran after the shooting.
The frightened cashier ran out for help.
Senior Insp. Argel Ancheta, Police Station 4 head with jurisdiction over the area, was initially not able to identify the suspect.
But two arrested “carnap” suspects nabbed in a follow-up operation about 5 a.m. claimed to know the gunman – a certain “Little”, a barker.
The arrested “carnap” suspects were Ryan Mahilum and Joseph Flores. They identified the shooting suspect when a footage from the security camera of the convenience store was shown them at Police Station 4./PN
