Army man killed in Taguig shooting

An Army sergeant was killed while his buddy and a member of the Philippine Marines were injured in a shooting incident in Taguig yesterday morning.

Authorities identified the fatality as Staff Sergeant Robert Dimaala, 30, assigned to the Philippine Army 2nd Infantry Battalion. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the body and was killed on the spot.

Injured were Dimaala’s Army buddy, Private First Class Roderick Sarominez and Technical Sergeant Henry Tupaz of the Philippine Marines.

They are both undergoing treatment at the V. Luna General Hospital in Quezon City. Sarominez is still in critical condition while Tupaz is recovering from a gunshot wound in the leg, said Inspector Vir Pagtama, chief of the Taguig police Station Investigation Division (SID).

Pagtama said investigators have yet to establish who fired the shots and the motive for the shooting. However, he noted that all three men were inebriated.

"You know what happens when you have had one drink too many," he said.

Initial investigation showed the incident happened at 2 a.m. in front of Vilma’s Videoke located along Sitio 5, Pasong Tamo Extension, Western Bicutan.

Sketchy reports revealed that Dimaala and Sarominez had already stepped out of the videoke bar when several gunshots rang out.

Witnesses saw Dimaala sprawled on the ground with the two injured men. Tupaz and his brother, a staff sergeant, were also having a drinking session inside the establishment.

Tupaz’s brother disappeared after the incident, Pagtama said.

Dimaala and Sarominez were both unarmed while the brothers carried firearms, witnesses said.

Members of the Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) team and Taguig investigators recovered 26 empty shells and six slugs from the crime scene, Pagtama said.