ORMOC CITY— Residents of Barangay Canbantug,Merida in Leyte were jolted awake by gunfire early Wednesday morning, September 10, 2025, and later discovered a neighbor lying dead in a pool of blood.
Police Major Ronald Espina, Merida police chief, identified the victim as “Russel” of legal age, self-employed, and a resident of Barangay Canbantug of said town.
Espina said that at about 2:15 a.m., the station received a call from a concerned citizen reporting a body lying in front of his house, near a billiard table. He personally led the responding team to the remote village, which is about 15 kilometers from the town proper. Upon arrival at 2:48 a.m., they found the victim’s lifeless body lying face up with a pool of blood near his head.
Crime scene investigators from the Ormoc City Forensic Unit recovered six spent shells from a 9mm pistol and one from a .45 caliber pistol. The victim sustained seven gunshot wounds, mostly to the neck and chest.
The victim’s body was brought to the Rural Health Unit for post-mortem examination. Police have yet to determine the motive and identify the culprits behind the attack.
(ROBERT DEJON)
