Ilocos Norte town councilor gunned down

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—A councilor in Sarrat town in Ilocos Norte was shot and killed Monday by still unidentified suspects, police said.

Investigators said Apolonio Medrano just came from the flag-raising ceremony at 8:10 a.m. at the Sarrat town hall and was about to board his vehicle when unidentified riding-in-tandem suspects approached and shot him several times using an “unidentified caliber of firearm.”

The police said Medrano was shot at the area where he usually parked his vehicle every time he attended the flag-raising ceremony.

He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to a hospital in Laoag but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

The assailants rode a “dark XRM” motorcycle, the police said, citing witness accounts.

A dragnet checkpoint operation was immediately launched to arrest the gunmen. Investigators were also looking at the footage from security cameras around the crime scene.

An investigation was ongoing to establish the motive behind the attack, police said.

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