Alleged thief shot dead; vigilantes blamed anew

Another man with an alleged shady past was shot dead reportedly by vigilantes at little past midnight yesterday near the St. Joseph Church in barangay Mabolo.

Reynaldo "Bulantoy" Caruz, 29, a resident of Juan Seno, Mabolo sustained a wound on the head.

Police investigation revealed that Caruz was allegedly a thief in the area. He was on his way to buy "balut" when shot from behind.

Witnesses said the assailant just walked away casually after finishing his job. Caruz was shot at close range considering that powder burns showed clearly around the wound.

Most of the victims of vigilantes had served time, but Caruz do not have a record at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center.

Since the third week of December around 60 men have been gunned down in vigilante fashion. Only four of the cases have been considered solved after these were traced to have stemmed from personal grudges and mistaken identity.

Human rights activists initially blamed Mayor Tomas Osmeña in the series of killings. The killings started following Osmeña's announcement he was creating a hunter's team to pursue criminals.

But the lack of evidence to pin the mayor down forced them to backtrack and instead appealed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to help them solve the spate of killings.

Months ago the Human Rights Commission in the region admitted it was facing difficulty in solving the crimes due to lack of witnesses - the same problem the police are facing.