KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews/04 Feb) – Gunmen riding in tandem struck again in Kabacan, North Cotabato early Sunday morning, hitting a female store owner who is now recuperating in a hospital.
Supt. Leo Ajero, chief of Kabacan Police, said Norma Pigcaulan, 53, widow and owner of a dry goods store in Poblacion, Kabacan, was standing outside her store along Roxas Street at around 8 a.m. on Sunday when one of the two men riding in tandem pumped bullets into her right chest..
Ajero’s men recovered from the crime scene two slugs from a .45 caliber pistol, which they believe were used in the slay attempt.
Apparently thinking their target was dead, the suspects immediately fled towards Pikit town in North Cotabato, he said.
Pigcaulan was rushed to the Kabacan Medical Specialist Center in Kabacan town but later moved to another hospital for further treatment.
She was the third woman shot by gunmen riding-in-tandem in Kabacan out of 20 shooting, police records show.
Witnesses could not give clear descriptions about the suspects and the motorcycle they used, police said.
On July 24 last year, civil society groups led a prayer rally along the streets in Kabacan to urge authorities to put an end to the killings.
Despite the intense pursuit operations launched by the police, no one from the tandem has been arrested in Kabacan. (Malu Cadelina-Manar/MindaNews)