ISABELA CITY, Basilan – One died while five others were wounded when unidentified gunmen shot at a group of voters in Tabuan Lasa municipality as they were coming out of a polling center Monday afternoon.
Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Basilan commander, identified the fatality as Ricardo Fabian, 52, who was killed on the spot.
Wounded were Andy Reyes Jr., 30; Narrudin Gadjali, 29; Alnasri Jammang, 29; Bol Madjalis, 48; and Hakim Munib, 38.
The victims had just emerged from the polling center in Barangay Tong-Umus, Tapiantana Island, Tabuan Lasa, when the suspects shot them with high-powered firearms at around 2 p.m.
Police said they have yet to ascertain the identities of the suspects, who were hiding in houses located near the polling center during the incident.
“The gunmen just waited for us to leave the place and started shooting the victims,” Col. Pedro Martirez, Basilan police director, said.
Martirez said the suspects fled before the responding JTF-Basilan troops arrived in the area.
Earlier in the day, Martirez led a team of police officers to Barangay Boloh-Boloh, Bubuan Island, Tabuan Lasa, after two groups of political supports figured in a gunfight.
No one was wounded in the 7 a.m. armed encounter between the supporters of Boloh-Boloh Barangay Chairperson Jahid Abbas and Alfad Farouck, a candidate for municipal councilor. (PNA)
