Village chief association head shot dead in Ilocos Norte

CRIME SCENE. Police cordon off the area where a village chief was shot dead in Barangay 22 San Guillermo, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte on Saturday, October 26, 2024. The police are still determining the identity of the attackers and the possible motive of the killing. (Screengrab from Bombo Radyo Laoag live report)

LAOAG CITY — The president of the Association of Barangay Captains of San Nicolas town was gunned down early Saturday by still unidentified attackers in Barangay 22 San Guillermo, a report reaching the Ilocos Norte police said.

According to witnesses, Mark Adrian Barba, 39, village chief of Barangay 6 San Juan Bautista, was on board a gray Toyota Innova, with plate no. NDA 8116, along with two other individuals, when they were ambushed at about 3 a.m. along the national highway while on their way home from a nearby cockpit arena.

READ: Village chief shot dead in Ilocos Norte

The victims were rushed to a nearby hospital but Barba was pronounced dead by the attending physician.

Meanwhile, his companions, who were wounded in the attack, remain in critical condition.

Responding police recovered multiple empty shells of M-16 Armalite rifle from the ambush site.

Police investigators are still determining the identity of the attackers and the possible motive of the killing. (PNA)