By Jennifer P. Rendon
An off-target shot saved a man from riding-in-tandem gunmen.
Thirty-six Rodolfo Melicado Jr. of Barangay Ubian, Maasin, Iloilo was closing his bamboo shop at Barangay Tacas, Jaro, Iloilo City around 6PM of February 16, 2021 when motorcycle-riding persons appeared.
Melicado told police investigators that he immediately noticed the two persons on board a red Kawasaki Bajaj motorcycle that parked near him.
Melicado said he immediately ducked for cover as the backrider pulled a gun. He then heard a gunshot and the motorcycle sped towards Pavia town.
The victim was unscathed even though he was shot at from about 5 meters.
Lieutenant Colonel Reuben Siason, Jaro police chief, said no slug or empty shell was recovered in the area.
The only mark the incident left was a hole on a sack that served as an improvised tarpaulin of the shop.
Before the incident, a neighbor claimed that the suspects even ate noodles at a nearby store. They immediately left when they saw Melicado getting out of the bamboo shop.
Siason said the victim only reported the incident three hours later.
Melicado told investigators that the incident could be linked to a 2013 shooting incident where he was also involved where he and another friend were accused of killing a man in Maasin town.
But the case was eventually amicably settled. His friend, though, was killed in 2020.
On top of that, Melicado was also charged for murder in Maasin in December 2020.
Meanwhile, Siason said the victim was not on the police’s watchlist of illegal drugs personality.
