By Allen Estabillo | Philippine News Agency
GENERAL SANTOS CITY – An official of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) was wounded in a shooting on Wednesday (Oct. 27) morning in Koronadal City.
Lt. Col. Joedy Lito Guisinga, Koronadal City police chief, said Engr. Normina Pahm, 55, was waiting for a ride to the regional office inside an apartment compound in Block 1, Mabini Street in Barangay Zone 4 when she was shot at around 7:20 a.m.
He said Pahm, the assistant regional director for the administrative services division of DOST-12, sustained a gunshot wound on her right shoulder and was immediately rushed to the South Cotabato Provincial Hospital.
“She is now in stable condition and undergoing further treatment,” the police official said in a radio interview.
Citing accounts from witnesses, he said Pahm was sitting in a steel swing with two other co-workers standing nearby when a still unidentified male suspect casually approached her and opened fire twice using a handgun.
One of the bullets hit the victim while her two other female companions were unharmed. The suspect hastily left the scene after the shooting.
Guisinga said the investigators recovered two empty shells and a slug of a still unspecified firearm.
He said their investigators are reviewing the footage of closed-circuit television or CCTV cameras installed at the apartment compound and nearby establishments to determine the possible identity of the gunman and possible accomplices.
“We’re also gathering the necessary information that could help solve this case,” he said.
Guisinga said he will realign the station’s personnel deployment to increase their visibility in various areas in the city.
Witnesses said the suspect appeared to be in the early 20s and was not wearing any face covering during the incident.
A tricycle driver reportedly saw two persons rushing to leave the area following the shooting and boarded a pickup truck in front of a nearby establishment.
Mastura Plang, the DOST-12 driver assigned to Pahm, said he was not aware of any threats received by the victim before the incident.
He usually fetches Pahm in front of the apartment compound, where the latter had been staying along with her co-workers for over six months, at 7:20 a.m. every workday.
Plang said he was approaching the area aboard their office vehicle when he heard the gunshots.
“She is a good boss and very generous. I can’t think of anyone who could do this to her at this time,” he said. (PNA) – bny
