THE police are considering three persons of interest in the killing of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili, Calabarzon police director Edward Carranza said Tuesday, July 3.
He declined to name the said persons of interest, but said they were all being implicated in illegal drugs transactions.
“Initially meron po tayong 2 na person of interest and the third one we have to identify among the group kung sino sa kanila,” he said.
Carranza said they hope to be able to establish soon the motive of the killing and identify the assailants and others involved in the incident.
Halili, who was included in the government’s drugs watch list, was shot dead while singing the national anthem during Monday’s flag ceremony at the town hall.
Carranza said based on the autopsy report, Halili was shot directly to the heart.
The assailant used an armalite and not an M14, as police initially reported.
The assailant is not a sniper, but somebody who is "proficient in the use of a long firearm," he added.
“’Yung distansyang 150 meters cannot be considered as a sniper work, ‘yung 160 meters if you are a marksman, an ordinary marks man kaya niya pong tumama sa 160 meters whether you are using a steel sight or a scope,” he said.
He said that, according to the military, a sniper shoots a target from 500 meters and beyond.
However, Carranza said the police are still facing a blank wall as to how the gunman positioned himself in the grassy area and how he was able to escape.
Police have failed to obtain any closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that may useful in the ongoing investigation.
"Hindi pa namin ma-determine 'yung eksaktong escape route kasi maraming pwedeng pag-atrashan ng mga suspects. Wala din kaming ma-inteview na mga witnesses," he said.
Carranza said the crime was well planned where the suspects had conducted in depth surveillance of the his target.
He said on Thursday, the police will be conducting a reenactment of the incident. (SunStar Philippines)