2 killed in Cotabato shooting

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The city police is still clueless on Saturday’s murder of two city residents by still unidentified suspects armed with assault rifles.

Senior Supt. Rolen Balquin, city police director, said investigators are still gathering information on the shooting incident, which left Edenel Gepte and Norodin Piang dead.

Gepte, son of a retired police officer, and Piang were shot dead near the city’s old market by suspects armed with AK-47 Kalashnikov and M-16 assault rifles.

Investigators hinted that the two could be involved in illegal activities that eventually resulted to their deaths.

“We just have to give our investigators enough time to determine the identities of the suspects and the true angle of that incident,” Balquin told reporters.

Friends and relatives of Gepte and Piang said they have suspicions that the incident could be related to illegal drugs. They declined to elaborate, however.

Two women, Bai Gayao, and Kalima Marohomsalic, were hit by stray bullets when the gunmen opened fire at Gepte and Piang while they were at the Tecksing area near the city’s old market.

The Tecksing area here is a major circulation spot for shabu and materials for fabrication of fishing dynamites.