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Crippled patient shoots doctor dead

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A wheelchair-bound patient shot dead his doctor during a regular check-up and then killed himself at a Cebu hospital on Thursday (July 24).

Apparently frustrated that he could still not walk after surgery, retired seaman Wilfredo Sabonsolin, 72, shot and killed the orthopedic surgeon who operated on his back last December, reported the Philippines media.

After shooting Dr Cris Cecil Abbu, 56,  Sabonsolin shot himself in his left temple at about 9.45am at the PT Center of the Sacred Heart Hospital in Cebu City, police said.

The doctor was rushed to the emergency room of the hospital for gunshot wounds in his right arm and chest but he was declared dead at 10.30 a.m. 

Shot in the heart

Attending physicians said the shot fired at Dr Abbu's chest hit his heart, reported the Philippines Star.  

Sabonsolin was killed on the spot, slumping back against the wheelchair he used to enter the clinic.

Police told the Philippines Inquirer that Sabonsolin might have been frustrated and angry at the surgeon because he could still not walk since his operation last December.

Sabonsolin was athletic and used to run even if he was in his 70s.  But last December, Sabonsolin complained of a nagging pain in his back, which prompted him to see a doctor.

He had his back checked by Dr Abbu who recommended surgery on his spinal cord.

Dr Abbu was said to have assured Sabonsolin that he could walk again without pain after therapy. 

Sources: Philippines Star, Philippines Inquirer