Family of 5 killed, torched

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines — Five members of a family were shot dead and burned by unidentified men in a remote village in Siocon town, Zamboanga del Norte on Wednesday.

Carlito Aban, 60; his wife Rosalia, 45, and their children – Aldrin, 20; Shannyn Cris, 17, and Stephen, 13 – were asleep when the men barged into their house in Sitio Padaun, Barangay Candiz, according to Capt. Edwin Duco, spokesman for the Zamboanga regional police.

At gunpoint, the suspects dragged the family outside, set the house on fire and shot the victims.

The gunmen threw the bodies into the flames.

Responding police officers, health workers and firefighters were shocked to find the charred remains of the victims.

Police recovered bullet shells for .45 caliber pistol and a phone case from the scene of the incident.

Probers said that before the massacre, Aldrin had called his brother Tairon on the phone, telling him that a man was outside their house.

A manhunt was launched for the man, whom Aldrin identified to Tairon during their conversation on the phone, according to Brig. Gen. Jesus Cambay Jr., regional police director.

Police expressed belief that personal grudge was the motive for the killing.