Cops hunt down suspects in gun attacks vs. gov’t worker, trader

COTABATO CITY – Police authorities here and in nearby Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao have launched manhunt operations against gunmen involved in separate ambush incidents involving a government employee and a businessman on Friday evening.

Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, Cotabato City police director, said a manhunt operation has been conducted against two men, who ambushed and seriously wounded Angelito Cabacungan, 51, an employee of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Region 12.

Cabacungan was driving his Toyota Vios heading for home at Happy Homes Subdivision in Barangay Rosary Heights 10 at 6 p.m. when two men on a motorbike opened fire on him.

He sustained a gunshot wound on his nape but managed to drive up to a nearby hospital, about 800 meters away. Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered three empty shells for a .45-caliber pistol at the ambush area.

In nearby Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, police are also hunting down two men who ambushed furniture trader Kahar Abedin, 40, a resident of Barangay Dalumangcob.

Abedin was walking near his furniture shop along the national highway when one of the two suspects shot him at close range in the head. The gunmen quickly fled on a motorbike while Abedin’s relatives rushed him to the hospital. (PNA)