A teenaged boy known to the police to have a questionable background was shot dead shortly after midnight Wednesday in Dumaguete City.

Vigilantes are believed to be behind the death of Novem Yusores, 19, single, of Barangay Cadawinonan, but the police would not confirm this.

Yusores' body was found early morning in the Banica River, floating near its bank close to the dike that leads to the interior of Sitio Canday-ong, Barangay Calindagan.

Initial investigation by Scene of the Crime police operatives showed a single visible gunshot wound to the abdomen, although the exact cause of his death was not immediately known and this has to be verified by the city health officer who is expected to conduct a post mortem examination on Yusores' body today.

Witnesses said they heard bursts of gunfire shortly after 12 a.m. Thursday in the Canday-ong area.

Another resident said that minutes after the gunshots rang out, she saw two men with their faces covered on board a blue motorcycle speeding away southward along the national highway.

Intelligence operatives said they had responded to several calls from citizens at midnight, and had searched the riverbank under the old Banica Bridge to check on any anomalies.

The operatives recovered five empty shells of 9mm bullets in the area, and saw a pair of slippers and bloodstains on the cemented dike, but did not see Yusores' body at the time.

One police officer said the tide had risen and it was very dark with thick brush and coconut trees obstructing their view.

A sixth empty shell of the same caliber was found Thursday morning at the scene.

Margie Yusores, the mother of Novem, said that the young man was last seen leaving their home with three of his friends on Wednesday afternoon and had not returned home that night.

Nelson "Juan" Yusores, Novem's father, also confirmed this, adding that Novem's friends, JR, Reynard and Ronil had picked up their son on a motorcycle.

The father said one of his son's friends had told him later that Novem had proceeded to Canday-ong and had separated from the group.

The Yusore couple confirmed that Novem was recently released from the city jail on rugby-sniffing charges.

When he was still about 11 years old, Novem was also sent to a juvenile facility in Argao, Cebu.

His parents said Novem also worked part time as a parking attendant in the downtown area of the city, and had no known enemies.

Yusores is the third perceived "salvage victim" in Negros Oriental this year.

The first was noted drug pusher Dandan Liu, who was gunned down last month in Barangay Tampi, Amlan, while on his way to Cebu.

Last Monday, a still unidentified man was found dead at an old quarry site in Bacong town with seven gunshot wounds to his body.

Police say Yusores did not have any pending cases, however, he had figured in many complaints in the past and was in the list of police "personalities" in the city.*JG

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