Widow killed at Caloocan public market

MANILA, Philippines - Three unidentified gunmen killed a 38-year-old widow at a public market in Caloocan City Thursday afternoon.

Superintendent Florendo Quibuyen, city police officer-in-charge, said Abelene Buenaventura, a resident of Malabon, died from two gunshot wounds in the head.

Quibuyen said messages on the victim’s cell phone indicate she was supposed to meet someone at the Bonifacio public market, where she was shot at close range with a .45 caliber pistol by one of three men at around 2:50 p.m.

Witnesses told police the shooter warned one of his companions, who took the victim’s bag, that Buenaventura was armed. The attackers, all wearing baseball caps, fled toward MacArthur Highway, where their getaway vehicle was parked.

“We are still investigating, and hopefully we could identify the suspects through the victim’s cell phone,” Quibuyen said.

He said that Buenaventura’s kin were hesitant to give the police information about the victim’s job or her source of income.

Quibuyen said the suspects operated like they were expert killers.