Phl shooting team member gunned down

MANILA, Philippines - A member of the country’s international practical shooting team was shot dead after participating in a local shooting competition in Malabon City Sunday afternoon.

Michael Lontoc, 30, who was supposed to participate in a competition in Greece next month, was ambushed by at least four gunmen holding Uzi machine pistols and handguns along M.H. del Pilar Avenue as he was driving his Toyota Hilux home to Quezon City at around 4:40 p.m., according to Inspector Delta Navarra, city police investigation chief.

The victim was allegedly set to leave yesterday for a shooting competition in China.

Sources said Lontoc suffered two gunshot wounds, the bullets piercing his heart. The victim’s friends rushed him to the Manila Central University Hospital, where he died before he could be operated on, Senior Police Officer 1 Robert Miclat said. Lontoc’s remains lie in state at the St. Peter Memorial Homes in Quezon City.

Police said a witness claimed four gunmen approached the vehicle, two on each side, when the victim slowed down to avoid a road repair project.

Lontoc managed to drive his vehicle about 100 meters from where he was shot before he slammed into the concrete fence of the Family Badminton Center.

Witnesses told police the gunmen escaped by boarding a passing passenger jeepney. No motive has been established for Lontoc’s murder.