LINGAYEN – A barangay captain of Baybay Sur in Sual, Pangasinan was shot dead in his open garage near his house at 11:20 p.m. Friday (March 3), a police report said.

Barangay Captain Camilo Ragojos was shot just after alighting from his vehicle by still unidentified gunmen. He died on the spot.

Investigation conducted by the Sual police led by Seniro Inspector Medardo Soriano, chief of police, showed that Ragojos and his wife Elizabeth just came from a wake of one of their barangaymates when the incident happened.

Soriano said Elizabeth had proceeded to the back of their house to open a door for her husband to get in. From where she was, she heard three gunshots.

When she rushed out again, the barangay captain was already sprawled on the ground and bathing in a pool of his own blood. The gunmen escaped.

Soriano said no other person may have witnessed the incident as the house of the couple is far from their neighbors.

Residents however told him that before the couple arrived, they saw in their area four persons, riding on two big motorcycles, two men in each motorcycle.

The men appeared to be going to and from along a road leading to the barangay captain’s place at least four times.

Soriano admitted that Ragojos survived an earlier assassination attempt on him when he and his family were riding in their own car and the suspects tossed a hand grenade at them. No one was hurt in that incident.

Soriano said that prior to the killing, Ragojos received a threat letter from a still unknown sender but he merely ignored it.