By Jennifer P. Rendon
A P100,000 cash reward awaits those who could provide information that would lead to the identification and possible arrest of the gunman who shot a teenager over the weekend.
Captain Eduardo Siacon, Jaro police chief, said that Carl Dominic Labuson’s older brother confirmed to him the family’s decision on Monday, April 5.
Facebook user Labuson Gadot Romy, the victim’s kin, posted on Sunday that they would be giving the P100,000 reward to any person who could provide leads to the suspect.
He also used the hashtag #justicefordominiquelabuson, as he asked the public to spread the information.
On Sunday, Jaro police investigators said they still have to look for leads on the gunman who shot Labuson.
But on Monday, Siacon said they have already come up with a possible lead on the gunman.
“We showed pictures of two men to the woman whom the gunman tried to rob. She said that one of them could be the suspect,” Siacon said.
He said they came up with the two possible suspects based on the modus operandi of the gunman.
Based on Jaro police’s rogues’ gallery, at least two persons could be employing such tactic in robbing their targets.
But nothing is conclusive yet. Siacon confirmed that the gunman was wearing a nutshell helmet and mask when he staged the botched robbery.
The witness just based her assessment on the eyes, the color of the suspect’s facial skin, and his built.
Police have already reviewed four CCTV cameras at the scene.
Based on the footages, the assailant was driving a black Honda Click 150i motorcycle with no license plate.
Siacon said they would review more CCTV footages on the suspect’s escape routes.
The 19-year-old Labuson was killed by a motorcycle-riding gunman early evening of Black Saturday.
The victim, a resident of Barangay Carimayor, Leganes, Iloilo and son of Leganes Sangguniang Bayan member Larry Labuson, was killed by the robber he was trying to chase near the entrance of Metropolis Subdivision in Barangay Tagbac, Jaro at around 7:30 p.m.
He succumbed to a gunshot wound on the right temple and chest.
The victim was a college student taking up a Maritime course.
Police investigation showed that the incident started at the nearby Leganes town.
Labuson and his younger sister went to a convenience store in the town proper to buy a snack on board his motorcycle. He left her sister at the store while he went to fill up his motorcycle in a nearby gasoline station.
He then heard a shout from a woman at the nearby Jardeleza Arcade. A man appeared to be trying to rob the woman and immediately sped away.
Labuson allegedly left the area and chased the suspect.
When they reached the Metropolis area, the suspect slowed down after apparently seeing a police mobile patrol several meters away.
Policemen apparently responded to a vehicular incident in the area.
It was at that juncture that Labuson showed shouted, “Dulog, dulog.” (Stop, stop).
“The tricycle drivers plying the area thought that it was a case of road rage,” Siacon said.
True enough, the suspect stopped only to pull his gun out and shot him twice.
Meanwhile, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has called on the PNP “to do everything that they can to bring in the perpetrators of the shooting incident.”
“Iloilo City will never tolerate violent incidents to happen in our beloved place. This is not the way things are done in a civilized society,” Treñas said.
