By Edwin Fernandez

CRIME SCENE. Scene of the crime operatives conduct an investigation at a road in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, where gunmen waylaid a family of three on Monday (Sept. 1, 2025). The father died on the spot, while his wife and daughter died at the hospital. (PNP photo)

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao del Norte – Police are hunting down two gunmen who ambushed and killed a family of three in the village of Nalinan here on Monday afternoon.

Lt. Col. Jopy Ventura, spokesperson for the Bangsamoro police, identified the fatalities as Ibrahim Payapat, his wife Zenaida Kusain, 32, and his daughter Aisa, 16.

All were residents of Barangay Rosary Heights 10, Cotabato City. An 11-year-old son survived the attack but was injured.

Citing police reports from the Sultan Kudarat municipal police station, Ventura said the victims were all on board a tricycle on their way home when two men on a motorbike opened fire on them at around 3 p.m.

The father died on the spot. His wife and daughter were rushed by responding villagers to the Cotabato Sanitarium hospital in Sultan Kudarat town but they expired an hour later.

Police said the suspects and the motive behind the attack are still being determined. (PNA)