1 killed, 1 wounded in Pangasinan gun duel

DAGUPAN CITY – Two men shot each other during a gun duel in San Carlos City on Sunday night (April 16), leaving one of them dead and the other wounded, police said.

Samuel Deocaris, 52, suffered two gunshot wounds in the chest and died while being treated at the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital (PPH) while his opponent Virgilio Padilla, 54, was hit in his left thigh.

The two men attacked each other during the birthday party of Daniel Briones in Barangay (village) Ano, said Supt. Nestor Cusi, San Carlos City police chief, in a Monday (April 17) radio interview.

Cusi said the duel may have been triggered by an old grudge between the two men.

At 8:50 p.m., Padilla left the group and returned minutes later with a 9mm pistol. He challenged Deocaris, who was also armed with .45 caliber handgun, Cusi said.

Padilla managed to fire two shots before Deocaris could fire his gun, hitting his opponent in the chest. But Deocaris may have fired his gun as he fell, hitting Padilla’s thigh, said Cusi.

He said investigators are trying to find out how the two men were able to obtain weapons, given that they were both jobless.