BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Law enforcers in San Carlos City suspect that the ambush in Barangay Palampas was a case of “mistaken identity”, according to Negros Occidental governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
He received information that the target of the gunmen was not in the car, said the governor.
“Very unfortunate for the personalities inside the car and I understand makadto man lang to sila sa bulangan,” added Lacson.
He called on Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) acting director Police Colonel Leo Pamitan to leave no stone unturned in the investigation – identify the real target of the ambush and the perpetrators, and what were their reasons.
Lacson also believed the gunmen were not members of the New People’s Army, noting that the victims were ordinary San Carlos City residents.
In a related development, San Carlos City deputy police chief Police Lieutenant Roby Aurita revealed that the lone survivor in the ambush, 27-year-old Renante Chui, is now in stable condition.
Chui sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the attack.
Police recovered a total of 58 empty shells from a .45 caliber firearm and 5.56 caliber shells from an assault rifle.
Aurita is also calling on any witnesses to surface and cooperate with the police’s investigation.
Earlier on Sunday, an undetermined number of gunmen opened fire at a white Mazda sedan in Sitio Villa Elena, Barangay Talampas, San Carlos City.
The 40-year-old Russel Bacao and 17-year-old Andre Fajardo were declared dead on the spot, while 51-year-old Rudy Dela Fuente died from his gunshot wounds on the way to the hospital.
The attack was the second recorded this month in Negros Occidental following last week’s ambush on a police patrol car perpetrated by rebels in Binalbagan town which resulted in the wounding of two police officers and a teenaged civilian./PN
