Scene of the crime personnel conducting an investigation in front of the house of slain lawyer Rafael Atotubo. The street in front of the victim’s house was secured by the police. (Photo courtesy of Glazyl Y. Masculino)
BACOLOD CITY -- A lawyer was gunned down by unidentified motorcycle-riding men in front of his residence on the corner A.B. Parreño-Galo Streets in Barangay 20 here Thursday morning.
Police identified the fatality as Rafael Atotubo, 62, who was declared dead at The Doctors’ Hospital past 11:30 a.m.
Senior Supt. Francisco Ebreo, acting city police director, said in a press conference Thursday afternoon the police investigation will look into all angles.
This includes the possibility that Atotubo’s murder was linked to his job as he was known to represent clients facing illegal drug cases.
Ebreo said based on the information they have received, the slain lawyer was handling mostly drug-related cases.
Investigators have yet to identify the perpetrators as the manhunt operation is ongoing, he added.
“We will leave no stone unturned. All the possible motives, all the possible details, we look into these to give justice (to the victim’s family),” Ebreo said.
Initial police investigation showed a motorcycle stopped in front of the house where the lawyer was seated while reading documents on a table.
One of the two riders alighted from the motorcycle and shot Atotubo, hitting him near the left eye.
Investigators recovered two bullet shells of caliber .9 mm pistol from the scene of the crime.
Ebreo said the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera mounted outside the Atotubo residence was unable to capture the shooting because its memory card was already full.
He added that one witness has surfaced, so far.
Ebreo added that they have yet to get a statement from the Atotubo family.
In a radio interview, the victim’s sister, Silay City Prosecutor Ma. Lisa Lorraine Atotubo, said she does not know of anyone considered an enemy of her brother.
She called the perpetrators “evil.”
Lawyer Jose Max Ortiz, a friend and former law firm partner of the victim, said in a separate interview that Atotubo was a fearless attorney. (PNA)
