Barangay chair gunned down

A Barangay captain from Meycauayan town in Bulacan province was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding men at the parking lot of a cockpit arena in Valenzuela City Sunday morning.

Lauro Bartolo, 54, the chief of Barangay Libtong in Meycauyan, died due to a lone gunshot wound in the torso at around 10:30 a.m.

Case investigator Police Officers 2 Robin Santos said that the shooting happened while Bartolo was guiding his son, Larry, who was driving a private multi-cab, into a parking spot at the cockpit area in Barangay Malanday.

All of a sudden, the two were approached by two other men on a Honda motorcycle, one of whom shouted “Kap” (Captain) before shooting the victim with a caliber .45 pistol.

“The son would have been shot, too, if the gun did not jam,” Santos said.

The motorcycle-riding men then sped away while the victim was rushed to

Meycauayan Doctors Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The victim’s son told the police that on their way to the cockpit arena, they had observed a motorcycle following them from a nearby barangay in Bulacan.

The police have yet to determine the motive for the killing. “The son doesn’t know if his father had any enemies,” Santos said.

Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, Valenzuela police chief, added that they were coordinating with the Bulacan police to solve the case.