
SELF-confessed drug lord and mayoral candidate Kerwin Espinosa on Thursday was injured in a gun attack in Albuera, Leyte.
Espinosa, who is running for mayor of Albuera town, was on a campaign trail when shot around 4:30 p.m. at the Albuera Gymnasium in Bgy. Tinag-an.
Espinosa was waiting to speak before a crowd of supporters when shot by an unidentified gunman hiding in the ceiling above the stage.
He was rushed to Ormoc Doctors Hospital, where he is currently recuperating.
A minor named Aira and a sibling of Espinosa were also hit in the attack and were undergoing treatment.
Espinosa’s running mate, vice mayoralty candidate Mariel Espinosa Marinay who was also present in the event, was unharmed.
Personnel of the Albuera Municipal Police Station (MPS) and SWAT teams imediately launched a hot pursuit operation, setting up roadblocks to apprehend the suspect.
To recall, Espinosa’s father, former Albuera mayor Rolando, was killed after allegedly fighting it out against cops during a search operation inside his detention cell at the Baybay sub provincial jail in November 2016.
Kerwin Espinosa is running under the Bando Espinosa-Pundok Kausaban (BE-PK) political party,