DIPOLOG CITY (Mindanao Examiner / May 3, 2014) – Police said 5 people were shot by a group of men in an attack at a coconut farm in Dapitan City in Zamboanga del Norte province in southern Philippines.
Police said the victims were gathering coconuts in the farm owned by Herminio Acaylar in the village of Santa Cruz when the armed group arrived and attacked them with a shot gun.
The victims were identified as Nelson Dalaguan, 45; Roger Catacuta, 37; Allan Dumasig, 52; Eddie Magundaya, 46; and Samuel Malabago, 30.
Police said three of the attackers have already been identified as Rodrigo and Salia Andile, Lorenzo Lasing, but 12 others remain unidentified, although they are all residents in the area.
“Victims sustained gunshot wounds in the different parts of their bodies and were brought to Sindangan District Hospital for medical treatment,” said Inspector Dahlan Samuddin, a regional police spokesman.
It was not immediately whether the victims were working in the farm or stealing coconuts.
“Investigation disclosed that prior to the incident, victims were harvesting coconuts at the farm owned by Herminio Acaylar when the suspects arrived and without any apparent reason shot the victims and fled after the attack,” Samuddin said.
He said police were searching for the attackers. (Mindanao Examiner)
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