KIDAPAWAN CITY — Lawmen have launched a manhunt for two men who shot dead a father and injured his five-year-old daughter in Barangay Takepan, Pikit, North Cotabato on Friday.
“We are looking at personal grudge and robbery in this case,” Pikit town police chief, Chief Insp. Romy Castañares, said.
On board a motorbike, Jomar Gutierrez, 31, of Barangay Takepan, was dropping off his daughter, Angel, 5, at Takepan Elementary School when one of two armed men standing in front of the school — who appeared to have been waiting for the victim — shot them from behind at about 11:30 a.m.
Castañares said Gonzales sustained multiple gunshot wounds in his back and one of the bullets that hit him also hit his daughter who was seated in front.
Residents rushed the victims to the Cruzado Medical Clinic in Poblacion Pikit but the father was declared dead on arrival while the child remained in critical condition.
Castañares said after the victims fell off the motorbike, the suspects grabbed their Yamaha motorbike and sped off towards Barangay Dalingaoen, also in Pikit.
He said police recovered four empty shells from a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene.
While robbery was seen as the primary motive because the motorbike was taken by the gunmen, police said investigation is also focused on personal grudge involving the victim and his attackers.
Castañares said police have vital information on the identities of the suspects based on witnesses’ accounts. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
