Supect in killing of teacher, pregnant wife killed in Cotabato operation
INQUIRER FILES
MATALAM, Cotabato — A suspect in the of a teacher and his pregnant wife was shot dead during a police operation here Friday, authorities said.
Col. Gilbert Tuzon, Cotabato provincial police director, identified the slain suspect only by the alias “Ali,” a resident of Purok Waling-Waling in Barangay Poblacion. Tuzon said Ali resisted arrest when law enforcers tried to serve a warrant at around 4 p.m.
The warrant was issued by a court in Kabacan town, Tuzon added.
Ali, armed with a pistol, allegedly opened fire on the arresting officers, prompting a brief exchange of gunfire.
He was brought to a local hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Ali was tagged as the gunman in the May 14 killing of Eliser Sugaste, a teacher at Matalam National High School, and his wife, Lailane, who was pregnant and owned a computer printing shop in the town. The couple died on the spot.
After the shooting, the suspects fled with the couple’s CRF motorcycle.
Tuzon said Ali was identified through closed-circuit television footage and eyewitness accounts. A second suspect remains at large.
