DIGOS City ― A 29-year-old fish vendor who was en route to one of the villages in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur minutes after getting out from a cockpit arena in Digos City failed to reach home as he was gunned down past 8 pm on April 5.
Lt. Colonel Hamlet Lerios, Digos City police chief identified the victim as Eric Relator Mediano, a married, fish vendor and a resident of Purok Pag-asa B, Barangay Bato, Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur.
The police report said Mediano was traversing the Digos to Davao City national highway onboard his top-down tricycle (Bukakang) heading home.
Upon reaching Purok Malipayon, Barangay Zone I, Digos City a motorcycle driven by unknown rider/s overtook his vehicle and fired multiple rounds from a handgun hitting his left arm, right abdomen, left shoulder, upper lip, and the back of his head.
An emergency rescue vehicle from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) immediately responded and rushed the victim to Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital after sensing signs of life.
However, attending physicians exerted all efforts to revive Mediano, but it proved futile as he passed out minutes after arrival, the police report said.
Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) retrieved six empty shells of Caliber .45 pistol ammunition at the crime scene.
The police theorized that Mediano was being tailed after he got out of the cockpit arena. The identity of the perpetrator/s and the motive behind the incident are still unknown.
Lerios said Digos City police personnel launched a pursuit operation against the culprits.
It can be recalled that at about 4:10 pm on April 01, Heart Che Revilla Tungal, 30, a fish vendor was also injured after a lone gunman shot him at close range while tending his stall along the national highway in Barangay Tubod, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
Bansalan police have not yet released any progress report as to the identity of the suspect who was also riding a motorcycle during the shooting incident.
