Esperedion Japon, a local of the municipality of Bacong, Negros Oriental, was shot dead last night, July 29 at about 9:05 pm in the evening, marking the 7th fatality from a series of anonymous and seemingly unrelated shootings occurring around the island.

Initial police investigation reveals that the victim was walking along the National Highway returning home after a game of billiards when an unknown assailant shot him on different parts of the body upon arrial at Theo Sophia Store.

The victim was rushed to the Holy Child Hospital for immediate treatment. A follow-up investigation is still occurring.

Last week, one civilian and one government employee were gunned down in neighboring Guihulngan. The civilian, according to Hustisya Guihulngan, was red-tagged and harassed by the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

Meanwhile, two weeks earlier, four shootings occurred at various parts of the island via riding-in-tandem assassinations. As of reporting, there are no leads unto the aforementioned incidents.