3 men shot dead separately

CEBU, Philippines - Three men were shot dead in different incidents in Cebu Province and Cebu City over the weekend.

In Barangay Ermita, Cebu City, a man who was sleeping was shot dead by a lone gunman shortly before midnight yesterday.

Patricio Dayuta, 38, succumbed to two gunshot wounds in the head, which caused his immediate death.

Homicide Section of the Cebu City Police Office said that Dayuta was sleeping on a flattened carton box when the gunman arrived and shot the victim without any word before fleeing towards an unknown direction.

CCPO’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit recovered an empty shell of  9mm pistol from the crime scene.

The victim was taken to Saint Francis Funeral Homes for autopsy examination.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Cogon, Tuburan town, 44-year-old Victor Tiaman, a native of Mindanao, was shot dead by two men while he was walking home at 8 p.m. last Saturday.

Tiaman died due to a gunshot wound in the chest, with the bullet exiting his back.

PO1 Ariel Sala of Tuburan Police said one of the two suspects who approached Tiaman on the road pulled out a firearm and shot the victim twice, but hit him only once.

Tiaman was taken to Tuburan District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival while the suspects left the scene.

Police recovered an empty shell of .45 pistol believed to be from the firearm used by the gunman.

Sala said Tiaman did not have any derogatory records but they are digging deeper into his background, suspecting that the motive of the killing could be due to personal grudge.

In a separate incident in Barangay Poblacion, Barili town, Jonas Mercado, a motorcycle-for-hire driver, was gunned down by a lone gunman at 3 am yesterday.

Mercado, of Barangay Candugay, was driving his motorcycle towards town proper when the suspect, who was apparently waiting for him along the road, shot him several times.

The victim died of gunshot wounds to the left shoulder, back, and left knee. He was rushed to Barili District Hospital but no longer made it there alive.

Two empty shells of a .45 caliber Pistol were recovered from the crime scene.  (FREEMAN)