This week marked a crime-filled Christmas season in the Philippines. Today prominent Zamboanga De Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa was shot and killed along with his wife and 19 month old niece at the heart of the Philippines' capital at Nnoy Aquino International Airport as he had just arrived from a flight. Four other bystanders were injured in the attacked wherein 20 shots were fired from a .45 cal pistol. The gunman escaped on board a motorcycle driven by an accomplice, and to date remains unidentified and at large. Yesterday, the wife of prominent lawyer Atty. Raymund Fortun was shot in the face by an unidentified assailant as she was alighting from her car in front of their house. The target was seemingly her husband, Atty Fortun. And last weekend, the nation's largest mall, SM North EDSA, right in the middle of the city, was robbed by the Martilyo Gang ("Hammer Gang") which used sledge hammers to break the glass displays of jewelries, of which some 5 million worth were stolen.
To date, no suspects or leads have been established.
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