Motorcycle-riding gunmen strike again

Police cordon the area on Urgellio St., Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City where Juditho Amante, 39, was shot and critically wounded by motorcycle-riding men past 6 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2019. |CDND Photo/ Alven Marie Timtim

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A man was shot past 6 p.m. today, November 22, 2019, along Urgello Street, Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City.

The victim, Juditho Ama nte, 39, was rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and is now in a critical condition after men on board a motorcycle shot him while he was cooking fish in his small grill stall outside his rented home.

Police Senior Master Sergeant Lydio Libres told reporters that the victim sustained gunshot wounds on his head. Investigators found three empty shells of a still undetermined firearm in the area.

Libres said his killing could be a case of mistaken identity as the neighbors  told police that the victim had no known enemy in the area.

“Basin mistaken identity but mag invesitgate pa mi (Maybe it was mistaken identity but we will still investigate),” said Libres.

Onlookers mill around the area on Urgellio St., Barangay Sambag 1, Cebu City where Juditho Ama nte, 39, was shot and critically wounded by motorcycle-riding men past 6 p.m. on Nov. 22, 2019. |CDND Photo/ Alven Marie Timtim

However, some witnesses also said that the gunmen, who wore full face helmets, might have targeted Amante since they passed by the area a few times before he was shot and made sure that he was hit in at close range.

Motorcycle-riding gunmen have been responsible for a number of killings in Cebu in recent months, including that of Police Staff Sergeant Alfredo Pagaling, who was killed in Minglanilla town last August 31. /elb