By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY – Police are investigating two shooting incidents that claimed the lives of a former drug detainee and a farmer in Negros Occidental over the past three days.
The most recent incident occurred in San Carlos City early Sunday, involving 31-year-old Dennis Donato, a resident of Barangay Rizal.
Police Major Ryan Villasario, deputy chief of the San Carlos City Police Station, said a barangay watchman found Donato lifeless at Sitio Talave, Barangay Punao, around 2:30 a.m.
An investigation revealed that the victim was driving a motorcycle toward Barangay Punao proper when he was shot by an unidentified assailant.
Donato sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Villasario said it remains unclear whether the suspect followed the victim or waited for him to pass through the area, which is considered secluded.
The victim had a prior case for illegal drugs and was recently released from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in San Carlos.
Police are working to determine the motive for the killing and have not ruled out the possibility that it may be drug-related, given the victim’s background.
Villasario stressed that their investigation would rely on evidence and that they are still gathering additional information.
In a separate incident in Calatrava town, a 48-year-old farmer was shot dead in Sitio Tinibyangan, Barangay Minapasuk, last Friday.
Police identified the victim as Florencio Alquiza III, a resident of the same barangay.
Police Major Wilfredo Benoman Jr., Calatrava police chief, said the victim was having dinner with a companion around 6 p.m. when an unidentified assailant suddenly shot him.
Alquiza succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head.
Benoman said police have yet to establish the motive for the killing.
