Two women dead, man injured in Talisay attack

CEBU, Philippines — Two women were killed while a man was injured in a shooting incident in Sitio Mananga 1, Barangay Tabunok, Talisay City yesterday morning.

The fatalities were identified as Cris Quiñones, 29, a resident of the said sitio, and Joy Cancancio,24, a resident of Sitio Crasher, Barangay Lawaan 3 of said city. They succumbed to gunshot wounds to the different parts of their bodies.

Joneme Cortes, on the other hand, suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen, but was declared out of danger.

Police Master Seargent Glenn Besande of Talisay City Police Station said the victims were buying noodles (pancit canton) at a sari-sari store after a drinking spree when two unidentified men wearing black jackets and bonnets shot them.

A team from the Scene of the Crime Operatives recovered two empty shells of a .45 caliber pistol from the crime scene.

Aside from the still unidentified gunmen, Besande said they are also eyeing Cortes as a person of interest due to his inconsistent testimonies.

Cortes claimed that he was wounded in a separate shooting, contrary to the findings of the investigators.

“He (Cortes) might have knowledge of the crime,” said Besande.

Besande said the relatives of Quiñones were jailed for drug-related charges.

After hearing bursts of gunfire, the nine-year-old son of Quiñones said he went outside of their house to check and saw her lifeless mother slumped in a canal.

“Who would look after us now? My dad and grandfather are still in jail,” the child said in local dialect.

Cancancio’s mother, Felipa, said she last saw her daughter yesterday morning.

“She just went out to buy a medicine. I can’t believe she’s gone,” she said in local dialect.

Besande said they are still investigating the motive behind the shooting, as well as the identities of the gunmen.

In a separate shooting incident in Barangay Pusok, Lapu-Lapu City, 45-year-old Jose Antonio Jr. was shot dead by unidentified gunmen Wednesday afternoon.

Police said Antonio was drinking near his residence when the assailants on board a motorcycle approached him and shot him several times, resulting in his instantaneous death.

Police are still conducting an investigation to determine the motive and identities of the gunmen. —  Rowena D. Capistrano KBQ (FREEMAN)