Trader shot, loses P400T to robbers

A money-changer shop owner was rushed to the hospital after he was shot by two men who robbed him in barangay Tejero, Cebu City.

Police said the robbers ran away with the P400,000 cash they took from Edgar Hortellano Jr. of barangay Pitogo, Consolacion town, Cebu.

Police said Hortellano was driving a Crosswind SUV past 7 p.m. Thursday night when two men on a motorcycle drove beside him and hit his car.

Hortellano stopped and opened the window of his car to check. The two men approached Hortellano, pointed a gun at him and declared a hold-up.

Police said Hortellano tried to resist but the robbers shot him in the abdomen.

The robbers took the businessman’s bag containing the money.

The robbers drove off to an unknown direction. Pedestrians helped bring the victim to the hospital, police said.

Senior Supt. Melvin Buenafe, chief of the Cebu City police, said it was possible that the robbers knew Hortellano since they knew that the victim was carrying a big amount of money.

The robbers apparently were familiar with the victim’s movement, said Buenafe.

Buenafe said investigators are still waiting for the victim to fully recover from his gunshot wound before they start asking him for leads./CORRESPONDENT CHITO O. ARAGON