Controversial Cebuano lawyer killed in daring daylight ambush
The body of lawyer Rex Fernandez slumps on the passenger seat of the car he was riding after he was ambushed by an unidentified assailant on Thursday afternoon, August 26, in Banawa, Cebu City.
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — A Cebuano lawyer who became controversial after holding a hunger strike, was killed in a daring afternoon ambush along Duterte Street, Banawa, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City on Thursday, August 26, 2021.
Lawyer Rex Jesus Mario Fernandez, who was on hunger strike since August 13, 2021, succumbed to gunshot wounds inflicted by a lone attacker past 4 p.m. today.
Fernandez, who was sitting at the passenger’s seat of the car died instantly.
His 37-year old driver was rushed to a private hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound on the hip area.
Witnesses said a woman who was seen sitting at the back of the vehicle and who was believed to be Fernandez’s staff, survived the attack unharmed.
The incident, which transpired at around 4:30 in the afternoon, has caused traffic congestion in the area.
It also took almost three hours for the body of Fernandez to be extracted from the vehicle since funeral personnel arrived at around 7 p.m.
In an interview with CDN Digital, two relatives of the victim, who arrived at the crime scene hours after the incident, said they have no idea where their grandfather came from prior to the shooting.
In a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage released by an establishment nearby, the gunman can be seen waiting beside a bakery at the left side of the road, or on the opposite lane from where the car carrying Fernandez was traversing.
As the car stopped at the intersection, the gunman, who was wearing a red hooded jacket, immediately crossed to the right lane and riddled with bullets the side of the vehicle where Fernandez was sitting.
After shooting Fernandez, the gunman ran towards his cohort, who was waiting on board a motorcycle just a few meters away.
The suspects, who were not wearing helmets, immediately fled the crime scene heading north.
The investigator-on-case is not yet available for an interview as of this posting.
Fernandez was on his 13th day of a hunger strike to protest against the management of the condominium where he lived for cutting off his water supply despite an injunction issued by the court.
In an earlier interview with CDN Digital, the legislation lawyer said that he would continue to go on hunger strike until the management obeys the law or until he dies, stressing that it depends on what comes first. /rcg
READ: Cebuano lawyer goes on hunger strike
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