Deputy police chief shot dead in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY—Gunmen struck again about 8 a.m. Saturday by killing the deputy police chief of Station 6 in front of the JR Torres Elementary School, a populated area of Barangay Singcang Airport in this city.

SPO4 Oscar Exaltado, deputy police chief of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) Station 6, succumbed to multiple bullet wounds, and died on the spot, according to the police.

SPO4 Oscar Exaltado. Contributed photo by Radyo dyEZ

Exaltado, 45, was on his way to report for duty at BCPO Station 6 when he was followed and shot several times by one of two motorcycle-riding suspects.

An eyewitness said a man believed to be serving as a look-out of the two suspects joined them and took Exaltado’s gun that he also used in shooting the police officer.

Exaltado, who was wearing a police uniform, was reported to have suffered a fatal bullet wound in the head.

Twenty-one empty shells believed to be those of 45 and 9-mm caliber pistols were recovered at the scene of the incident.

Senior Inspector Elmer Bonilla, BCPO Station 6 chief, said they were trying to determine if the killing of his deputy was job-related.

Bonilla said Exaltado was dedicated to his job and was applying for a promotion to the next higher rank.

Last month, two motorcycle-riding suspects also shot and killed Senior Inspector Porferio Gabuya, also a deputy police chief of Guihulngan City Police Station, in Negros Oriental./lzb