The owner of a chain of restaurants in many parts of the country was shot dead at about 8:50 p.m. Monday by a lone gunman at Sta. Catalina Street in downtown Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental.

Dumaguete Police officer-in-charge Insp. Eddie Oira identified the fatality as Aries Christopher Bejar Alvarez, 40, married, of Ecoville Subdivision, Barangay Talay, Dumaguete City. He died on arrival at the Holy Child Hospital from a lone gunshot wound in the chest.

Investigation shows that Alvarez, proprietor of Ka Waway Restaurant at Sta. Catalina Street, had just boarded his red Suzuki sedan that was parked across the restaurant at around 8:50 p.m. Monday, when the gunman came up and shot him pointblank.

Witnesses described the gunman as wearing a white T-shirt and dark long pants, a white hat and slippers, about 5’6” tall, and of slim build. He fled on foot up Sta. Catalina Street and turned left westward, where police said they believe a companion or a getaway vehicle was waiting for him.

The suspect is believed to be a gun-for-hire contracted to kill Alvarez for still unknown reasons, Oira said.

Before the shooting, he said the suspect and another companion had been seen for at least five nights hanging out at a snack bar at the corner of Sta. Catalina and Noblefranca streets, that are within walking distance from the victim’s restaurant. Both were riding a Honda XRM motorcycle.

The police recovered a spent shell of a .45 caliber revolver at the crime scene.

Myles Bejar, a relative of the victim and spokesperson of the Alvarez’s family, said they requested for an autopsy to retrieve the slug embedded in the victim’s heart.

Bejar said the police and the National Bureau of Investigation are looking into the two cases related to his business that Alvarez had filed in court.

The family of Alvarez and his close friends said they do not believe that the victim had personal enemies that would warrant his murder. Bejar said they believe the killing was premeditated, and are hoping that the case will be solved immediately.

Oira said the spent shell and the slug will be subjected to laboratory examination for cross matching with similar shooting cases.

He said he regretted that none of the businesses near the crime scene have closed-circuit television security cameras. But a cartographic artist will meet with witnesses to come up with a sketch of the suspect’s face, he added.*JFP

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