• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Greg Gasataya has condemned Aug. 25 the shooting to death of a driver in front of the Bacolod Cosmopolitan Christian Church along Circumferential Road in Barangay Taculing Sunday morning.
“This brutal act of violence has no place in our city,” Gasataya said in a statement as he condoled with the family of Efren Banaglorioso, 59, of Barangay Granada, and the church community.
“Bacolod will never tolerate lawlessness. We will not allow fear to take hold of our streets. We stand firm against violence and remain fully committed to keeping our city safe,” the mayor stressed.
He said that those responsible will face the full force of the law.
The Bacolod City Police Office said that, per initial investigation, the victim had just stepped outside the church premises and was standing beside the road when a black Mitsubishi Montero stopped nearby, an unidentified gunman alighted from the backseat, and, without any provocation, shot the victim seven times with a still unidentified caliber of firearm.
Banaglorioso sustained multiple gunshot wounds to various parts of his body, causing his immediate collapse, the police said. “Responding personnel from Barangay Taculing BDRRMO confirmed that the victim no longer had a pulse and showed no signs of life.”
The suspect fled northbound, the police said, adding the BCPO Forensic Unit was immediately asked to process the crime scene while follow-up operations and investigations were launched to identify and apprehend the assailant. | CGC
