By Kevin A. Lagunda and Jovy T. Gerodias, Sun Star Cebu
BY THE time barangay tanod Edgardo Cuizon realized the shooting wasn’t for real, it was too late.
Cuizon is now detained after he shot the actor Kirk Abella, 27, during a film shoot Saturday night at the corner of Ibarra and JC Zamora Sts., Barangay Parian, Cebu City.
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“I thought it was a shooting alarm,†he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Chief Insp. Alexis Relado, chief of the Parian Police Station, said Abella was acting in a mock documentary film, “Going Somewhere.â€
The attack happened in the fifth take of a scene, in which Abella and his partner dramatized the drive-by shootings that hit the city a few years back.
They rode a motorcycle. Both wore black masks and jackets. Abella was the back rider.
Cuizon, who was inside his house, was jolted awake by a neighbor who told him there were armed persons in the neighborhood.
He immediately got up, went out of his house and walked toward the corner where the filming was.
He reportedly approached the motorcycle, held on to its rear and introduced himself as a barangay enforcer.
But the motorcycle allegedly sped off. Cuizon was dragged and wounded on his knees.
When he saw the back rider, Abella, draw out a gun, he also pulled out an unlicensed .357 revolver. He shot Abella, hitting him in the back.
Abella was rushed to the Perpetual Succour Hospital, where he later died.
PO3 Geoffrey Gutual of the Homicide Section said the slug that entered Abella’s back remained embedded in his chest and killed him.
“I would like to ask for forgiveness. I did not mean it,†Cuizon said in Cebuano.
Police Chief Relado said that Cuizon went to the station and told the police there were armed men.
It was SPO1 Alexander Rustilla who informed Cuizon the armed men were actors. Another policeman, Insp. Pepito Pelostratos, reportedly told Cuizon to stay away from the set, but the latter did not listen.
A liquor test showed Cuizon was not drunk at the time, Relado said.
“I think he was sleepy,†he said.
Relado further said he wondered why Cuizon failed to see six policemen assigned to secure the film crew, as well as a patrol car nearby, with its lights blinking.
Cuizon will face homicide and gun ban violation charges.
“My neighbor did not tell me it was a film shoot,†Cuizon said.
When asked why he carried an unlicensed firearm, Cuizon said he borrowed it from a friend whom he refused to identify. He said he brought the gun with him because he thought he would have to deal with armed felons.
Cuizon now plans to resign his position as a barangay tanod. He has served in that capacity for five years and received a monthly honorarium of P600.
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