Nurse shot by driver of a Mercedes Benz in Cebu traffic spat

This video grab shows an unidentified man (center) and nurse Ephraim Montalbo (right) during a confrontation along F. Sotto Street in Cebu City on before dawn Sunday, March 19, 2017. SCREENGRAB FROM MOTORIST’S VIDEO

CEBU CITY — A nurse suffered two gunshot wounds in the leg after he was shot by a still unidentified gunman during a traffic altercation on F. Sotto Street, Barangay Kamputhaw, in Cebu City at about 3 a.m. on Sunday.

The victim, Ephraim Montalbo, was brought to private hospital for treatment as the police worked to identify the perpetrator, who fled with a female companion on board a dark-colored Mercedes Benz with plate number UNI 731.

PO3 Nicolo Gonzales of Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) homicide section said they had yet to trace the owner of the vehicle with the Land Transportation Office although they believed the suspect to be a foreigner or a Filipino of Chinese descent.

Gonzales said the road rage started when the Mercedes Benz crisscrossed the narrow two-lane street before stopping in the middle of the road.

Montalbo, who was driving a Toyota Altis behind the Benz, honked at the driver of the Benz so he could pass.

Instead of moving his car, the driver of the Benz got out of his vehicle, accompanied by a woman, and kicked the car of Montalbo.

The man tried to punch Montalbo but the latter parried the blow. The man went back to his car and took a gun.

Video taken by a motorist behind Montalbo showed a man with a gun confronting Montalbo, who had also gotten out of his car.

Suddenly, the gunman shot Montalbo four times, the video showed.

Although wounded, Montalbo used his cellphone to take a picture of the license plate of the Mercedes Benz as it sped away.

The police later recovered two slugs of a .22-caliber pistol and a live ammunition from the crime scene. -Nestle Semilla, CBB/rga