3 hurt in Masbate shooting

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LEGAZPI CITY, Albay —  At least three persons, including a suspected gunman, were wounded in a shooting near a cockpit arena in Milagros town in Masbate province, a report from Masbate provincial police said Sunday.

Vicente Pacheco, 34, a laborer and resident of Barangay Poblacion West, and Agapito Casanova, 56, a farmer from Barangay Bonbon, both in Milagros town, were wounded by stray bullets, which were supposedly intended for Ernie Sia, 53, a businessman and resident of Barangay Poblacion West.

A report by Senior Police Officer 1 Zandro Cabintoy, the public information officer of the Masbate provincial police, confirmed that Sia was the target of the gunmen at the Milagros Cockpit Arena in Sitio Baclay, Barangay Bacolod at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Erwin Guardame, 33, a gatekeeper at the arena and one of the suspected gunmen, sustained a gunshot wound at the back. He was brought to the hospital with the wounded bystanders for treatment while Sia, the supposed target of the attack, was unharmed.

Investigations revealed that the shooting stemmed from a heated argument between Sia and a certain Joaquin Briones inside the cockpit. When the two were pacified, Sia moved to leave the area onboard his motorcycle, but Guardame, Briones and another suspect, Iniego Albao Jr., fired at him .45 guns, the report said.

Briones and Albao immediately escaped from the scene. They remain at large.

Recovered from the crime scene were five empty shells from a .45-handgun. Police are still trying to determine the gun that fired the bullet that hit Guardame.  SFM