ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/4 Apr) – One of the suspects in the killing of a university official here over the weekend was slain during a shootout with policemen past midnight today while another
suspect was captured in the same encounter.
Killed during the 1:30 a.m. shootout was Reymundo Limen. His arrested companion is Hermes Serimogan.
Chief Supt. Mario Yanga, head of Task Force Archie, said both were among the three suspects in the killing of Hadji Arturo Ammar Eustaquio III, president of the Universidad de Zamboanga.
Yanga said Chief Insp. Felixberto Martinez, Police Station 6 commander, had deployed policemen after it was reported to him that the two suspects were sighted in the vicinity of a carnival in Barangay Guiwan.
The shootout ensued while the policemen were approaching the place where the suspects were seen, Yanga said.
He said the suspects are members of one of the three reported gun-for-hire groups based in this city.
He said they are also into the trade of prohibited drugs and robbery hold-up.
Yanga said that one of the witnesses in Eustaquio’s killing has tagged Limen as one of the three gunmen who killed the university official.
Eustaquio, 63, was gunned down around 1 p.m. while he was coming out of his residence’s compound driving a motorcycle at Maestra Vicenta Street, Barangay Sta. Maria.
Yanga said the “pieces of evidence” they recovered from the shootout scene will be subjected to ballistic tests to see if these match those recovered from the crime scene in Barangay Sta. Maria.
He said that if the ballistic tests would turn out positive, these would reinforce the testimony of the witnesses in filing the criminal case against the suspects.
Recovered from the shootout scene include a caliber .45 pistol, a white motorcycle, empty shells, slugs, caps, T-shirts, a piece of cloth used to cover the motorcycle plate number, Yanga said. (MindaNews)