Public market inspector killed

A public market inspector in Quezon City was shot dead Monday morning and the police said his death might be connected to the killing of another market employee last week.

Roger Pineda, 38, an inspector of the Commonwealth Market in Barangay (village) Commonwealth, was walking home from work on Steve Street when he was shot at 8:30 a.m. Case investigator SPO1 Joselito Gagaza said the victim was just a few meters away from his house when two armed men on foot shot him.

A four-year-old girl identified as Kate Winslet Villana was wounded after a gun cartridge hit her in the head. The police later recovered seven casings and five slugs from a .45-cal. pistol at the crime scene.

Investigators said one of the gunmen might have followed Pineda from the market while the other waited for him on Steve Street. According to the police, the killing may be related to that of market collector Rosario Tortoles, 52, who was shot dead last Friday.

Gagaza said the victims who were administrative employees of the public market had recently shut down 19 stalls and were selling the rights to other people. Tortoles had just collected the rent from stall owners on Friday morning inside the market when two men shot her, took the bag which contained the rent money and escaped.—Julie M. Aurelio; Tetch Torres-Tupas, INQUIRER.net

Originally posted: 10:04 am | Monday, October 28th, 2013