Tawi-Tawi town vice mayor shot dead in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY--Motorcycle riding gunmen killed a Tawi-Tawi town vice mayor in a drive-by shooting on a busy street here, police reported Wednesday.

Senior Insp. Shellamie Chang, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) information officer, identified the victim as Sapa-Sapa town Vice Mayor Al-Rasid Mohammad Alih, 53.

Chang said Alih was gunned down by one of two men riding in tandem on a motorcycle that overtook the official's SUV on a busy street at around 5:07 p.m. near a funeral parlor along Gov. Alvarez Avenue, Barangay Camino Nuevo, this city.

Per initial police investigation, Chang said Alih was aboard a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) together with his family when the incident happened.

Alih and his family had came out of a shopping mall minutes before the incident.

Alih succumbed to two gunshot wounds several minutes later while being treated at a hospital, police said.

Chang said an investigation is ongoing to identify the suspects, one of whom was clad in black jacket and the other in striped polo shirt.

Sapa-Sapa, which consist of 23 barangays, is a third class town municipality with a population of 30,917 as of 2015 census. (PNA)