AUTHORITIES have launched an in-depth probe to identify and arrest the motorcycle-riding gunmen who killed a policeman on New Year's Eve in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay.
The Zamboanga Sibugay police identified the slain policeman as Police Staff Sergeant June Ray Estallo Gamones, 37, who was assigned with the 3rd Maneuver Platoon of the Second Provincial Mobile Force Company in Zamboanga del Sur province.
The incident happened at 11:26 p.m. Wednesday, December 31, in Poblacion village, Diplahan, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Initial investigation showed Gamones was driving his motorcycle en route to Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay, when shot by one of two men onboard a motorcycle on a dimly-lit area.
The gunmen, both wearing black jackets and armed with a rifle, took Gamones service sidearm after Gamones slumped on the pavement before they sped off toward Malangas.
The police said Gamones was rushed to Wilfredo Palma Memorial Hospital in Diplahan where the victim expired while under medical treatment.
The slain policeman was on his way to visit his family in Malanga town at the time of the incident.
Recovered from the crime scene were four empty shells of a caliber 5.56-millimeter rifle.
The Diplahan police are reviewing the footages captured by closed-circuit television cameras in and around the crime scene for possible identification of the suspects.
The motive of the incident has yet to be ascertained, the police said. (SunStar Zamboanga)