Authorities probe killing of 2 cops in GenSan

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—The killing of two policemen seven hours apart of each other here on Tuesday has sparked an investigation to determine if the killings were related and what the motive or motives could have been.

The alleged  triggerman in one of the attacks was killed while his companion was wounded and captured, said General Santos police chief Senior Superintendent Froilan Quidilla, describing both as hired assassins.

“The suspects are not included in our own rogues’ gallery. So, I believe they came from other areas,” he said.

The first policeman to be killed was Police Officer 2 Franklin Akiatan, who had just walked out from a popular fast-food restaurant in Barangay (village) Calumpang with his grandson, when he was attacked by two men on a motorcycle around 10 a.m.

Police investigators said Akiatan suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body, which caused his immediate death. The assailants fled and disappeared with no one pursuing them.

Around 5 p.m., SPO1 Raul Capati was driving his motorcycle with one Melencio de los Angeles riding tandem behind him, when they were attacked by four men on two motorcycles at the corner of the national highway and Mabuhay Road.

Capati, who was armed with an M-16 rifle, was not able to fire back as the assailants successively pumped bullets into him and his companion, using handguns.

Police investigators said Capati died on the spot while De los Angeles was rushed to a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds.

Witnesses said two men on the first motorcycle fired on the policeman and his companion. When Capati’s motorcycle crashed on the pavement, the two other men on the second motorcycle drove up and finished the policeman off.

Quidilla said a member of the local Special Weapons and Tactics Team (Swat) happened to pass by the area on his way to work and chased the gunmen, engaging them in a firefight . One of the gunmen, identified as Benzar Samial of Polomolok, South Cotabato, was killed while his colleague was wounded and captured. The name of the second gunman was being withheld.

Chief Superintendent Alex Paul Monteagudo, Central Mindanao Police chief, said security has been tightened again in the city in the wake of the attacks.