DUMAGUETE CITY, (PNA) -– A businessman escaped unharmed after two men riding tandem on a motorcycle opened fire at him while he was driving his car at a busy section along the south road in Dumaguete City Wednesday.
The victim, a businessman from Tanjay City, Negros Oriental and who requested anonymity fearing a repeat of the foiled attempt on his life, said he is clueless as to the identity of the suspects or the motive.
He said that he was at the Robinsons Place shopping mall in Dumaguete waiting for some business transaction to take place when he decided to get a haircut in another part of town.
According to him, he was driving his Toyota Vios along the south road at the junction going to Sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan sometime after 2 p.m. Wednesday when he spotted two men wearing bonnets and tailing him.
He further said he saw one of the men pull out a handgun, which prompted him to step on the brakes and duck underneath the dashboard.
The suspects fired a single shot at the car before fleeing. In the meantime, the businessman said he slowly crawled out of the car and onto the road and sought cover behind a lamp post and a small store nearby.
Supt. Carlos Lacuesta, OIC police chief, lauded concerned citizens who called in the police. Lacuesta said motorcycle-riding cops immediately deployed to the scene in ten minutes but the suspects had already fled northbound.
Investigators recovered a spent shell of 9 mm caliber from the scene while Scene of the Crime Operatives are expected to process the Toyota Vios to determine if a slug has been embedded on the car door on the driver’s side.
The businessman told police investigators that he was scheduled to withdraw a large sum of money Wednesday to pay off some business partners.
Lacuesta said he has requested a team of police to escort the businessman in withdrawing money and taking him back to his residence in Tanjay City.
The OIC police chief said investigators are considering several motives, such as robbery, personal grudge or something business-related.
Meanwhile, Lacuesta has called on the public to take the necessary precautions when withdrawing money from the bank or engaging in business transactions involving large amounts of money.
He said the police are available to provide security escorts to businessmen upon their request.