Basilan town mayor, driver killed in Zambo City shooting

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 6, 2021): Basilan town mayor, driver killed in Zambo City shooting (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

SHOOTING INCIDENT. Policemen check the crime scene at the seaside in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City, where a shooting incident occurred Monday (Dec. 6, 2021) resulting in the death of two persons including Mayor Darussalam Lajid of Al-Barka, Basilan. Mayor Alih Sali of Akbar of the same province, meanwhile, was wounded during the incident. (Photo by Ely E. Dumaboc)

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police authorities have launched an in-depth probe into a shooting incident that resulted in the death of two persons, including a Basilan town mayor, on Monday in this city.

Another Basilan town mayor was wounded in the same incident that took place around 8:31 a.m. Monday at the seaside in Barangay Baliwasan, this city.

Maj. Chester Natividad, city police Station 11 chief, identified the slain town official as Mayor Darussalam Lajid of Al-Barka municipality and Barad Nuruddin, cousin and driver of Akbar Municipal Mayor Alih Sali, who was wounded in the same incident.

Lajid and Nuruddin were rushed to the hospital but were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician while Sali is now recuperating in the hospital.

Natividad said an initial investigation showed that the victims came from Basilan and have just disembarked from a speed boat that fetched them to this city.

He said the victims were walking towards their waiting vehicles when repeatedly shot with .45 caliber pistols by four gunmen aboard two motorcycles.

The perpetrators, who remain unidentified, sped off after the incident.

Natividad said that all possible motives are being looked into by police investigators to solve the case.

The remains of Lajid and Nuruddin were immediately shipped by their relatives to Basilan province aboard a speedboat for interment in
accordance with Islamic burial rites.

Deputy Speaker and Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman condemned the attack.

“I strongly condemn the killing of Al-Barka Mayor Darussalam Lajid early morning today in Baliwasan, Zamboanga City. I condemn the people behind the shooting (incident),” Hataman said in a statement.

“This violent crime has no place in a society that is deeply anchored on peace and a shared faith,” he added.

Hataman urged the police to thoroughly investigate the murder of the public official and the wounding of another.

Hataman said although they do not belong to one political party, he and Lajid and Sali aspire for the betterment of Basilan province and the lives of its residents.

“Indeed, they are my intimate friends and companions in Basilan Peace Riders and Basilan Practical Shooters Association,” he said.

“We hope for the speedy recovery of those who were wounded in the shooting and we pray that justice is served on those who are guilty in the crime, he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1161897