Businessman dead, wife wounded in Abra shooting

BAGUIO CITY — A businessman was killed after being shot by a riding-in-tandem pair in broad daylight in Barangay San Ramon, Manabo, Abra, on 3 September 2024. The victim's wife was wounded and is now recovering in hospital.

The victims were identified as Rodel Bermudez and Zoraida Bermudez, both residents of Barangay Patoc, Bucay, Abra.

According to reports, the victims were inside their rice store when a black motorcycle pulled up. The passenger alighted and fired multiple shots at the couple.

The suspects escaped from the scene and headed toward Bucay. Responding policemen rushed the victims to the hospital, where the wife underwent medical treatment while the husband was pronounced dead.

The Manabo Police conducted a pursuit operation and alerted the Bucay police and other stations.

At a checkpoint on the boundary of Manabo and Bucay, personnel from the Bucay Police were able to flag down a motorcycle and a pickup truck. The police apprehended the two suspects onboard the truck, which was found to be owned by a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Manabo.

According to the Manabo official, he was with his child and cousin and was heading to Bangued to buy parts for his truck when he saw the two suspects along the road. He said the two requested a ride with them as they were going to Bucay. He claimed that he allowed the two to ride with them without suspecting they had done something wrong.

The police recovered a caliber .45 and a caliber .22 from the suspects. Their names were not released pending the investigation.