Newspaper vice president shot dead in Venezuela

The vice president of a Venezuelan newspaper was shot and killed by a gunman who police said could have confused the victim for his brother _ the president of a daily that has closely covered corruption cases. Pierre Fould Gerges, vice president of the Reporte Diario de la Economia, was shot about a dozen times by an assassin on a motorcycle Monday night, newspaper editor Jose Palmar told the Venezuelan broadcaster Union Radio. «Everything indicates it was a hit,» Palmar said, adding the 48-year-old was shot about a dozen times and that the gunman stole nothing during the attack outside a Caracas gas station. The possible motives remain unclear, but the victim's brother Tannous Fould Gerges is the newspaper's president and has reported receiving threats while the newspaper has covered corruption cases. Police said the Fould had been driving his brother's car when he was killed on Monday night, raising the possibility his killer confused him with the newspaper's president.