A brawl between alleged members of two rival gangs escalated into a shooting incident that left one man in the hospital in Consolacion town, northern Cebu on early Wednesday morning, October 30. | Contributed photo via Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A group of individuals, believed to be members of rival gangs, engaged in a brawl inside a food park in Brgy. Pitogo, Consolacion town, northern Cebu on early Wednesday morning, October 30.
The gang brawl, which escalated into a shooting incident that left one man wounded, happened at around 2:45 a.m.
The wounded victim was identified as Manuel Comoro Jr., 30, from Brgy. Pajo Cansaga in Consolacion.
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Meanwhile, the suspect was Ricky Gutib, a resident of Purok I, Brgy. Nangka.
Police investigation showed that two separate groups, believed to be involved with rival local gangs, were having a drinking session inside the food park in the area on early Wednesday morning.
An argument allegedly broke out which resulted in the two parties throwing beer bottles and tables at each other. Shortly after, they exited the establishment.
Authorities found that the victim was standing outside of the food park when he was shot by Gutib, who was a member of the rival gang.
The suspect fled the scene and Comoro was rushed to the nearest hospital for medical treatment.
Personnel of the Consolacion Police Station promptly responded to the scene after receiving a call from a concerned citizen.
As of this writing, authorities have launched a hot-pursuit operation against Gutib who is still at large.
In addition, they are investigating the cause of the brawl that turned into a bloody shooting incident.
Consolacion police chief Police Lieutenant Colonel Eunil Avergonzado also said that they would continue to conduct dialogues with community representatives to disseminate information on child-related laws in order to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
Consolacion town is located around 20 kilometers north of Cebu City.