Man uses revolver to end brother’s addiction––and life

By BEN SERRANO
Correspondent

BUTUAN City––A man shot his younger brother to the head because he was fed up with his sibling’s alleged addiction to drugs.

The suspect, 45-year old Frederick Cagantas, pumped a bullet into his brother Pablo’s head in front of many people at a basketball court of Barangay Libertad, this city, on Wednesday morning.

Police said the younger Cagantas was already dead, and was bathed in his own blood when they arrived. Investigators said the siblings argued earlier after the victim allegedly asked money from his elder brother who owns a vulcanizing shop at Purok 6-C in Barangay Libertad.

Police said the elder Cagantas refused to give his brother money because he suspected it would be used to buy shabu. Investigators said the victim threatened the suspect, prompting the latter to arm himself with a caliber .38 revolver. Incidentally, the gun belonged to the victim, police said.

Police said the elder Cagantas used the revolver on his brother when they chanced on each other and argued again at the basketball court.

The suspect subsequently handed himself over to barangay officials of Libertad. He owned responsibility for the killing but said he did it because he was already fed up with his brother. The murder weapon has not been found at presstime.

Libertad barangay chairman Vincent Rosario said the victim was known in the community as someone hooked on drugs.

Meanwhile, a suspected drug pusher was killed in a raid in Purok 1, Barangay 10, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte, on Thursday.

The Buenavista police said Dexter Raz, 32, was killed when he tried to escape by putting up a fight with a .357 revolver.

Raz was shot to the chest. Authorities said they were about to arrest after serving a search warrant issued by Municipal Trial Court Judge Saidamen Gania.

But relatives of the victim cried foul, saying law enforcers could have simply shot Raz without killing him. Authorities said the suspect yielded suspected shabu weighing 13.4 grams and with an estimated market value of P154 thousand, some P56 thousand in cash, illegal drug paraphernalia, and mobile phones, among others.