Grade 11 student shot dead at home

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD CITY — Police are investigating the motive behind the killing of a Grade 11 student at his house in Barangay Granada on Sunday night.

The victim was identified as Nicus Balagusa, 20.

In a media interview, Police Captain Portia Nillosan, head of Police Station 5, said the victim was playing billiards outside their residence when a sedan carrying two unidentified armed men arrived. The victim ran into the house upon seeing the men and hid in a bedroom. However, the suspects chased him inside.

Nillosan said the suspects kicked in the bedroom door, and one of them allegedly shot the victim in front of his parents. The victim suffered four gunshot wounds and was declared dead at a hospital.

Police recovered three fired cartridge cases of a .45 caliber firearm and two deformed slugs from the scene.

According to police, the gunman and his companion had three other accomplices who reportedly served as lookouts.

Nillosan said one of the suspects has been identified by the victim’s father and a minor witness. However, police refused to name the suspect pending further investigation.

Nillosan mentioned that the victim and the gunman’s daughter knew each other, but she could not elaborate on whether this connection had anything to do with the incident, as the investigation is ongoing.