EDITORIAL - Drive-by shootings

Drive-by shootings have recently claimed three more victims in Cebu City. Luckily, none of the three victims died. But this does not detract from the fact that of all shootings, this type is the more chilling.

Make no mistake, all shootings are to be feared. But in ambushes and assassinations, the targets are very specific, meaning that except perhaps for stray bullets, uninvolved parties have greater chances of being spared.

Shootings resulting from robberies are almost just as specific. Almost because true specificity is focused on another crime, that of robbery. Shooting arising from robbery can come only as an afterthought, or when resistance forces a robber to shoot.

Robberies can also be avoided, by security measures at home, and by avoiding places that invite crime when outside. At any rate, luck can be cajoled into one’s favor by simply being safety-conscious and practical.

But drive-by shootings are different. They are chillingly more dangerous because they are so random. They can take place anytime, anywhere, and to anybody when least expected. Any crazy maniac with a gun and a vehicle, any vehicle, can just go on a rampage and start shooting.

Before the latest three victims, there were those gays that have been specifically targeted by drive-by shooters. Do not let the specificity of the targets fool anyone because the shootings were still as random as random can get.

Even before that, there was that drive-by shooting that resulted in the deaths of several people. Some employees of this paper, sitting on the steps of our building for a smoke, were among those shot. Luckily not one of them got hit. But our building got scarred by bullet marks.

Clearly there is a need for the authorities to embark on an honest-to-goodness campaign against loose firearms, conduct more checkpoints, and sustain a round-the-clock patrol of all city streets. And there should be a way to address the ease with which motorcycles are sold.

Motorcycles are the vehicles of choice of most criminals, although in the latest drive-by shooting involved a car. Anybody can drive away a motorcycle with almost no questions asked for as long as they pay the peanuts needed for downpayment. No easier recipe for crime than that one.