4 shot and killed in Cotabato City

FOUR persons, two of them suspects, were killed in three shooting incidents in Cotabato City on Monday night, police announced on Tuesday.

The first incident happened around 6 p.m. along Doroteo Street, Poblacion 6 village of the city.

The victim was identified as Norhamin Usman Guiadel, 23, of Bulalo village, Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao del Norte.

Capt. Kenneth Rosales, Cotabato City Police Station 1 commander, said Guiadel was shot with a .45 caliber pistol from behind by one of two men on board a motorbike.

An hour later, another shooting incident took place inside a Minute Burger outlet near Fiesta Mall, Rosary Heights 10 village.

The victim, identified as Rasiden Angas, was killed instantly, also by two men on board a motorbike.

Angas’ companion, a woman, sustained gunshot wounds and was brought to the nearest health center.

In still another incident, Rahib Payapat, a resident of Bagua 2, Cotabato City who is working at the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, was shot while driving his Toyota pick-up truck.

Payapat was rushed to a nearby hospital and is now recovering.

According to Police Station 2 chief LtCol. Carmelo Mungkas, Payapat, a staff of Member of Parliament Mike Midtimbang, was with his girlfriend.

Police officers from Police Station 2 chased the suspects who traded shots with them near Sinsuat and Gov. Gutierrez avenues.

“In one instance, police were pursuing two men on a motorbike believed to be behind the shooting at a [food] outlet when the suspects opened fire on responding police officers,” Mungkas said.

“After they shot at our law enforcers, police were forced to return fire, killing them in the process,” he added.

The two suspects were killed in the shootout.

They were identified as Naif Kasim, 22, a resident of Rosary Heights 7 village, Cotabato City who died instantly, and Lakmudin Mohammad, 26, of Rosary Heights 11 village, who was declared dead at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.

“It appears that the peace and order of the city is being sabotaged by a still unidentified group,” Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao said.

He, however, added that the cases were not related and police investigations are ongoing.