Gunman kills brother of ARMM health secretary, takes escort's gun, wallet

A suspected hired killer shot dead the physician-brother of the regional health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Tuesday.Senior Inspector Alexander De Pedro, Cotabato City Police Office spokesperson, said eye specialist Sajid Sinolinding, who is in his early 40s, and his bodyguard, Mohammad Esmael, both died on the spot when a gunman attacked them at his clinic along a busy street in Cotabato City.Sinolinding’s older sibling, Kadil, Jr., is the regional health secretary of ARMM.A clinic secretary who asked not to be named said the man came at about 11 a.m. and wanted to have his eyes checked. The secretary told him that the clinic is no longer accepting patients since the cut off time had lapsed.But the suspect insisted he wanted to talk to Dr. Sinolinding and barged inside, shot the eye physician in the face. As the escort responded, he too was shot.Before leaving, the gunman took the escort's handgun and his wallet. He then escaped amid the commotion triggered by the bursts of gunfire.Sources from the police and Army’s intelligence communities told reporters the gunman is from Pagalungan town, hired by an influential school official based in North Cotabato. Image may contain one or more people and people standing sand//z-1-scontent.fmnl6-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18010242_297478614007812_3247768519806868951_n.jpg?_nc_eui2=v1%3AAeG8HBGVMa1z9-Rj8alIDD8cNgkXiI95VV65kA5myA9IHmfB-Yy6_u6jy086xG7HESktTQvLX_Ws_Ed2YDVVEEprrIKGWgelZxDqyxTeFqhkWBh4nqCJjpR7Q1xf4a1XT8Eandampoh=8eb732a577c2e14425131d20b88d4ad8andampoe=59929990 Sinolinding's brother, a professor, survived an assassin's bullet in Kabacan, North Cotabato few months ago.The family was dismayed to learn the CCTV footage did not capture the events before and after the shooting. They suspect it was jammed.The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group is now in custody of the CCTV footage.The slain eye doctor was brought to Kabacan, North Cotabato where he was buried in accordance with Muslim rites.