Police in Bohol are stepping up their efforts to find the killers behind the shooting of a US Army veteran.
As we previously reported, 63-year-old Lonnie Weig was out for his regular early morning jog when he was gunned down at 5am on Sunday, January 21.
Now, Bohol Provincial Police Office director, Senior Superintendent Angeles Genorga, has ordered “hastened investigations” into the killing in Baclayon.
The town’s police chief, Senior Inspector Raymond Halasan, told the Bohol Chronicle that a special investigation task group was set up less than 12 hours after the shooting.
He also said that Sr. Supt. Genorga had personally inspected the crime scene, which was an unpaved road in a secluded area in Barangay Upper Laya about 500 metres from the victim’s home.
Police now say Mr Weig sustained one gunshot wound in his head and another in the body. It had previously been reported that there were two gunshot wounds to his head.
It is now believed that one or more assassins were riding a motorcycle for a quick getaway. A neighbour, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Inquirer that she heard the sound of motorcycles at dawn, which she thought was unusual.
However, authorities have yet to determine the number of suspects involved in the shooting. There were no bullet casings found at the scene.
Despite their efforts, police say they are still facing a “blank wall” as to the identity of the gunman and the motive behind the murder.
Mr Weig was a US Army veteran from South Dakota who had lived in Barangay Laya for four years. He was married to a Filipina, Rose, and they had three children together.