Cops still clueless on identity of ex-NBI agent's shooter

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati Police has started to build a profile of murdered former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent John Herra to find out the possible motives behind his fatal shooting last Saturday morning.

Herra, 44, was shot dead by a lone gunman while working out at the Republic of Fitness Gym along General Malvar Street in Barangay Bangkal.

“We cannot start the investigation based on the actual facts of the shooting. The victim and the gunman do not know each other. As the suspect is a hired gun, we need to know who wanted Herra dead. We can start by profiling him,” said Lukban.

Meanwhile, Lukban said a video clip secured by the Makati Police from a closed circuit television camera (CCTVs) installed in an establishment near the gym where Herra was gunned-down could not provide enough details to identify the gunman and his accomplice who drove the get-away motorcycle.

“The video clip was not that clear. It showed the gunman and he and his accomplice drove away on a motorcycle. The CCTV clip is not that sharp to show the faces of the suspects or the license plates of the motorcycle,” said Lukban.

Earlier, Chief Inspector Reycon Garduque Makati Police intelligence chief said the Republic of Fitness Gym has no CCTV cameras installed.

“We could have identified the gunman if the gym only had a CCTV camera. But the footage from the nearby CCTV camera could help us identify the suspects,” Garduque earlier said.
 
On Tuesday, the generation of the gunman’s sketch resumed at the National Bureau of Investigation after the lone witness declined to go to the Crime Laboratory at Camp Crame where a computer aided composite sketch of the gunman was supposed to have been done.

“Since the NBI also volunteered to help us get a sketch of the gunman and with the witness’ refusal to go to Crame, we decided to have the sketch done manually by an artist of the NBI,” said Lukban.

Garduque earlier described the suspect as wearing a baseball cap, wearing a white undershirt, a pair of jeans, about 5”4’ in height and of medium build.

Herra sustained two gunshot wounds in the face and two in the body. The gunman, who was armed with a .45 pistol, casually walked away from the crime scene and even fired his gun once in the street as he escaped.

According to Garduque, the gunman could have observed Herra’s movements prior to the assassination.

“He (Herra) lives near the gym and is a regular at the gym,” he said.

Initial police investigation showed that Herra arrived at the gym at about 8:30 a.m.  He then started his workout.

Minutes later, the suspect walked into the gym and pretended to work out and even asked Herra to “spot” him or assist him as he was lifting weights.

“The suspect, said witnesses, even asked Herra to spot him and to give him tips on how to use the weights,” said Garduque.

After about 30 minutes, Herra stepped away from the suspect and was wiping his perspiration dry when the suspect opened fire. Police recovered eight empty shells from inside the gym and another one outside. The recovered slugs and shells are now in the custody of the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame.

“Herra did not see the gun as the suspect placed it inside a brown paper bag which he had placed nearby,” said Garduque.

According to Gardque, seconds before he shot Herra, the gunman called someone on his mobile phone and he was heard as saying: “Ok na.”

Meanwhile, Garduque said no motive for the shooting has been identified as yet by probers.

“We are still looking at all the possible motives although we are not discounting the possibility that this could be linked to his past at the NBI,” said Garduque.