SHOOTING INCIDENT. Unidentified gunmen, armed with M16 rifles, kill four persons and injured another early Tuesday (Nov. 8, 2022) in Barangay Baas, Lamitan City, Basilan province. The shooting incident occurred after the victims attended a wedding ceremony of a relative a day before. (Photo lifted from the Facebook page of Kilo India)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Four persons were killed while one was wounded in a shooting incident in Basilan province shortly before dawn Tuesday.
Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, said the victims were in deep slumber when unidentified gunmen opened fire on them around 3:30 a.m. in Barangay Baas, Lamitan City, Basilan.
Verceles said only two of the four fatalities were identified that included Gappal Mustapa Pagi and a minor.
The two unidentified fatalities were residents of Barangay Bohe Pahuh, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan.
Wounded was Muafiz Tamudjul, 18, also of Bohe Pahuh, Ungkaya Pukan, who was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Verceles said the victims had just attended a wedding ceremony of a relative late Monday and were sleeping on a mini-stage when the attackers, armed with M16 rifles, arrived and shot them.
Recovered from the crime scene were an M16 rifle and 16 empty shells of the same caliber.
He said the Lamitan police is conducting an in-depth probe over the incident. (PNA)
