By Jennifer P. Rendon
An 18-year-old teenager was killed in broad daylight on Nov. 19 after being shot multiple times by motorcycle-riding assailants on M.H. del Pilar Street in Molo, Iloilo City.
Chris Mark Gapol, a resident of Zone 5, Barangay San Juan, Molo, was sitting inside a tricycle, reportedly waiting for someone, when two men on a motorcycle approached him.
Without warning, the passenger, or back rider, opened fire on Gapol multiple times.
Captain Ryan Christ Inot, chief of the Iloilo City Police Station 4, said Gapol sustained four fatal gunshot wounds—three to the neck and one to the head. He was rushed to Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Hours before the incident, a 16-year-old friend of Gapol, identified as Angelo, visited Gapol’s home around 2:30 p.m.
Gapol later told his mother he needed to step out to buy something.
Shortly after the attack, police reviewed CCTV footage, which revealed Angelo’s suspicious behavior, suggesting prior knowledge of the ambush.
Under questioning, Angelo admitted that Arjay, a 25-year-old resident of Barangay Taal, Molo, had asked him to lure Gapol to the area where the attack took place.
By 8 p.m., police had also taken Arjay into custody.
Authorities are pursuing the two motorcycle gunmen, who remain at large.
Police are investigating two possible motives for Gapol’s murder.
One theory involves illegal drugs.
“We received reports that the victim had failed to remit the correct amount from a drug transaction,” Inot said.
Another angle points to Gapol’s past involvement in criminal activities.
While still a minor, he was implicated in a frustrated murder case and linked to other crimes, though no charges were filed in those instances.
Police said Angelo will face charges as an accessory to the crime, while Arjay will be charged as a principal accessory.
