PNP: Vigilantes not behind twin killings

The two shooting incidents that took place over the weekend were not the handiworks of suspected vigilantes, acting Cebu City Police Office director Patrocinio Comendador said yesterday.

Comendador said despite the fact that the perpetrators have used .45 caliber pistols, they see no signs that the twin killings were carried out by suspected vigilantes, who would usually use such type of firearm whenever they strike since December 2004.

He said that based on their observation, the two shooting incidents were related to illegal drugs. However, he added that there is a need to conduct a background check on the victims because he did not receive any information that the vigilantes are active again.

The city police chief also said that .45 caliber pistols could now be purchased in Danao City, as gun makers there have been concentrating on making such kind of firearm.

A jobless man and a truck boy were gunned down in separate incidents in the city last Saturday and Sunday.

The first victim was shot dead in the presence of her live-in partner in Pier 6 while the second was only sleeping when he was gunned down in barangay San Roque last Sunday dawn.

Police said the perpetrators in the twin incidents used caliber .45 caliber pistol as indicated by evidence recovered by the operatives of the Scene of the Crime Operations.

First to fall was Roland Teves, 31, a resident of San Carlos Heights in barangay Quiot. Teves was with his live-in partner heading toward Pier 6 around 10 a.m. last Saturday to pick up somebody who was scheduled to arrive on a commercial vessel.

Since the person they were about to pick up was not yet around, they decided to drive to a restaurant on board their motorcycle. Upon returning to the port area, Teves received a text message, prompting him to stop at the corner of First Street and E. S. Bacleg Street to check on his cellular phone.

It was at this point that an unidentified man approached Teves and shot him several times, hitting him in different parts of his body.

At the crime scene, police were able to recover three empty shells of .45 caliber pistol and a medium pack of shabu.

In the second incident, a truck boy was gunned down while he was sleeping on a table around 3 a.m. Sunday in barangay San Roque. - Flor Z. Peolina/LPM