Army, police hunt gunmen who killed 2, injured 7 in SGA-BARMM
COTABATO CITY – Police and military authorities are hunting down a group of gunmen who killed two and wounded seven others in a gun attack Tuesday morning in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (SGA-BARMM) in Cotabato province.
Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said members of the Kadayangan Municipal Station and elements of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion are pursuing the attackers in the SGA-BARMM town of Kadayangan.
Kadayangan municipality once formed part of Midsayap town in Cotabato province. It is one of eight towns comprising 63 barangays within the SGA-BARMM established through a two-phase 2019 plebiscite.
“For still unknown reasons, the unidentified gunmen fired at the unsuspecting victims,” Salanguit said in a phone interview.
He said the incident transpired at 8:40 a.m. in Barangay Malingao, Kadayangan. Salanguit identified the fatalities as Musalik Balang, 45, and Haron Boliongon, 35, both residents of Purok 4, Barangay Malingao.
Wounded were Romeo Lombo, a resident of Barangay Glad, Midsayap, Cotabato, and six other unidentified civilians now undergoing medication in a hospital in Midsayap.
Salanguit said pursuit operations have been ongoing while the police are still gathering information on the identities and motive of the attackers.
Initial information indicated that the armed attack could be related to a personal grudge involving the victims and the perpetrators. (PNA)