ORMOC CITY — A 60-year-old man was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding assailants while taking his wife to work Wednesday morning along the national highway in Tabango, Leyte, police said.
The victim, identified only by his alias “Atong,” was driving a motorcycle with his wife, alias “Rending,” 58, riding as a passenger when they were attacked at around 6:08 a.m. in Sitio Sooy, Barangay Inangatan. Both are residents of Villaba, Leyte.
Police said they received a call from a concerned citizen reporting the shooting and immediately dispatched responding officers to the scene.
Upon arrival, authorities found the victim lying face down beside his motorcycle. He had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. His wife survived the attack unharmed.
Based on the initial police investigation, “Rending” told investigators that while they were traveling to her workplace, two unidentified men suddenly appeared and opened fire on them.
After the shooting, the suspects fled on a separate motorcycle toward an unknown direction.
Police launched a hot pursuit operation to track down the assailants, but no arrests had been made as of this writing.
Authorities also requested the Ormoc Forensic Unit to deploy a Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) team to process the crime scene and gather evidence.
Investigators have yet to establish the motive behind the killing, and the identities of the suspects remain unknown. The incident remains under investigation.
(ROBERT DEJON)
