ILIGAN CITY —– A Philippine Army assigned at the 553rd Engineer Battalion in Marawi City was shot dead by a lone gunman at round 2:30 pm on Sunday, October 6, along the highway in Barangay Basak Malutlut, in Marawi City.
Colonel Thomas Pantaleon, Marawi City police chief, identified the victim as Staff Sergeant Lito Polines, was assigned at the Army’s 553rd Engineer Battalion, stationed at Barangay Moncado Kadingilan, inside Marawi’s ground zero.
Polines team is helping in the bomb clearing operations at the most affected area (MAA) to give way to the government’s rehabilitation and rebuilding effort after the 2017 siege.
Pantaleon said, witnesses saw Polines onboard his motorbike from Mindanao State University (MSU) on his way to the arm headquarters, when the gunman shot him and immediately fled the scene using the victim’s motorbike, the suspect also took the army’s sling bag believed to have contained his service firearm.
The victim was brought to Amai Pakpak Medical Center but was declared dead on arrival.
Police recovered one empty shell of caliber .45 pistol from the crime scene.
The Marawi police and the Army’s 103rd Brigade are investigating the incident-Divina M. Suson
