A policeman believed to have accidentally shot himself died at about 6:30 a.m. yesterday at his compound in Brgy. Alijis, Bacolod City.
Killed was Senior Police Officer 1 Fernando De Vera, 52, of Purok Puentebella, Brgy. Alijis, Station 7 commander, Chief Insp. Levy Pangue, said.
De Vera who sustained a gunshot wound in his mouth was rushed to the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival, Pangue said.
Policemen recovered De Vera’s service firearm, a Pietro Beretta 9-milimeter pistol, and its magazine from the hut near his house where the alleged accidental firing occurred.
Investigation showed that De Vera, who is also a backyard hog raiser and a fighting cock breeder, decided to stay in his hut after unidentified men entered his compound between 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. yesterday.
Pangue theorized that De Vera may have thought that the gun had no more bullets in it as he had already removed its magazine, but when he pulled the trigger, the bullet, that was left in its chamber, fired, hitting him in the mouth.
De Vera’s death shocked his colleagues at the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office, where he is detailed as a service driver of the Scene of the Crime Operatives.
Insp. Paul Jerome Fuentespina, of the NOPPO crime laboratory, described De Vera as a good and diligent policeman.
Bacolod City Police Office Director, Senior Supt.Ricardo de la Paz, ordered Police Station 7 to submit De Vera’s gun to the NOPPO crime laboratory for ballistic examination.
De Vera will also undergo a paraffin test and an autopsy will be conducted, de la Paz said.*APN back
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