Soldier shot dead in Marawi City

ILIGAN CITY—A soldier of the Army’s Engineering Battalion was shot to death by an unidentified gunman around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday along the highway in Barangay Basak Malutlut, Marawi City.

Colonel Thomas Pantaleon, Marawi police chief, identified the victim as Staff Sergeant Lito Polines, who is assigned at the Army’s 553rd Engineering Battalion located at Barangay Moncado Kadingilan inside Marawi’s so-called most affected area by the five-month war in 2017.

The engineering battalion is helping in the bomb clearing operations at the most affected area to give way to the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the city.

Relaying witnesses’ accounts, Pantaleon said Polines was riding his motorcycle alone when he was shot by the suspect who then took the victim’s sling bag containing his service pistol and immediately fled using the victim’s motorcycle.

“He was coming from MSU (Mindanao State University) and was on his way to their headquarters when he was followed by the assailant and was shot at (Barangay) Basak Malutlut,” Pantaleon told Inquirer in a phone interview.

The victim was brought to Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi but was declared dead on arrival.

Police recovered from the crime scene an empty shell of caliber .45 pistol.

Marawi police is now conducting investigation as to the identity of the suspect and the motive of the killing. /je