By Martin Sadongdong The gunman who killed Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili is "definitely" not a sniper, the top Calabarzon Police Regional Office (PRO-4A) bared Wednesday. Chief Supt. Edward Carranza, regional director of PRO-4A, explained that the minimum distance that a sniper usually shoots a target is at 500 meters or more. The suspected spotter's area where the gunman is believed to have positioned himself was discovered by the police at about 200 meters away from his target. (Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) Carranza said the gunman who killed Halili is called a marksman or a person skilled at using long firearms such as a rifle. Marksman is just one of the many categories of sharpshooters in the Philippines. The next higher level to being a marksman is called an "expert." Carranza also admitted that only state security forces such as military men and police officials can be considered as snipers because of the rarity of the training that one has to undergo. "When you use the word sniper, you are pertaining to a police or a military," Carranza said. "Once you said a person is a sniper, you have to go through a series of trainings and not everybody who can use long firearms can join a sniping course," he added. Asked if the reason why they were not considering the gunman as a sniper is because it might lead public suspicion against security forces, Carranza noted that the gunman was only firing at a range of 200 meters, "definitely not a work of a sniper." The bullet recovered from the body of Halili was found out to be a 5.56-millimeter ammunition, possibly from an M16, M14 -- both armalite rifles -- or any calibration similar to that of an armalite and not a sniper rifle. Gun restriction The top Calabarzon cop also said that in the past, civilians are allowed to buy semi-automatic firearms. It is only when the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition was enacted in 2012 that civilians were prohibited from acquiring high-powered guns such as rifles. "Before we have civilians who are in possession of a 5.56 mm rifle," he said. "Although now wala na, dati meron na kaya could be anybody who is proficient or trained in using long firearms," he said. He added that he even consulted high-ranking Philippine Army officers about the conflict on whether the gunman can be considered a sniper or just a marksman.