BACOLOD City – A fruit vendor was peppered with bullets at an unlighted portion of the public market in Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
The 55-year-old Pepe Mellina Lu-ar died on the spot. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds on the body.
Lu-ar was walking with his wife at around 5:50 p.m. on Thursday when a motorcycle suddenly stopped near them.
The rider, the unidentified bonnet-wearing gunman, disembarked from the vehicle, approached Lu-ar and fired at him twice on the back, police said, citing witnesses.
Lu-ar fell to the ground. The gunman then came closer and shot him again twice on the head, said the police.
Police were still trying to identify the suspect and determine the motive as of this writing.
Lu-ar was rushed to the Dr. Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City where he was pronounced “dead on arrival.”
The gunman sped toward Sitio Nabuta-an, Barangay Jonob-jonob, Escalante City.
Police recovered the following from the crime scene:
* four empty shells of a .45 pistol
* a black sling bag containing four identification cards – Lambat Sibat Volunteer ID, Peacemaker Transformation Group/PNP Force Multiplier ID, NACIDA – Escalante Chapter ID, voter’s ID
* a MyPhone dual SIM cellphone
* a bloodstained photocopy of an order of arrest
* an alleged part of a .38 revolver
* an LBC Express Card
* a calling card./PN
