2 K-9 bomb sniffing dog handlers shot in Kidapawan City

KIDAPAWAN CITY --Two handlers of K9 units sustained gunshot wounds on their stomachs when a still unidentified perpetrator shot them while they were securing the perimeter area of the city’s Mega Market, Monday.Two civilians, one of them a student, were also wounded in their lower extremities when hit by stray bullets in the 7 p.m. shooting.Superintendent Leo Ajero, city police director, identified the victims as Ryan Solatorio, 23, and Ryan Simpao, 29, both K9 handlers and resident of River Park Subdivision, Poblacion, this city.Also wounded were Nasrullah Guinaid, 41, tricycle driver from Barangay Nuangan, and Eloisa Fernandez, 17 of Barangay Malasila, Makilala.The victims were already out from danger by attending physicians.Ajero said the K9 handlers with their bomb sniffing dogs were manning the entrance of the public market when the gunman approached and shot them right there and then.At least nine empty bullets from a caliber 45 pistol were recovered in the crime scene.Ajero hinted the communist guerillas could be behind the latest attack against law enforcers in the city. Maybe they became the targets after the explosions directed against policemen took place in the city last week, he said.On May 26, four cops were wounded during two separate roadside explosions.The New Peoples’ Army (NPA) under Guerilla Front 53 owned up the bombings.