• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Warning shots reportedly fired by security guards led to the injuries of seven laborers at Hacienda Escolastica in Barangay Mabini, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Six of the seven victims, who are hacienda residents, are women, according to the report of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.
All of them were brought to the Cadiz Emergency Clinic for treatment.
Initial police investigation showed seven armed security guards tried to stop a group of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from harvesting sugarcane in the hacienda.
As heated argument ensued, the security guards allegedly fired several warning shots into the ground, which hit some of the ARBs, according to the police.
The suspects, who surrendered their firearms, are now under the custody of the Cadiz City Police Station.
The identities of the victims and security guards involved in the incident have been withheld by the police. | GB