Gunman kills photographer in Philippines

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 3 August 2013

Mario Sy, a freelance photographer, was fatally shot in front of his family in General Santos City. This incident marks the third journalist killed in the country recently.

Summary

BANGKOK: A photographer was fatally shot in his home in southern General Santos City on Thursday, the third journalist to be killed in the Philippines in less than a week.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of Mario Sy, identify the motive in the attack, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

An unidentified gunman entered Sy's home and shot him twice in front of his wife and daughter, according to news reports. The accounts said the assailant fled on foot and that Sy died at a local hospital. Police Director Froilan Quidilla said investigators recovered two shell casings from a .45-caliber handgun, the reports said.

Sy, a freelance photographer, regularly contributed to the local Sapol News Bulletin newspaper. John Paul Jubelag, publisher of the paper, said Sy's murder could have been related to his contribution to a photo report on local drug trafficking earlier this year.

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KEY POINTS:

• Mario Sy was shot twice at his home in General Santos City.
• The murder is the third of a journalist in the Philippines in a week.
• Authorities are investigating possible links to Sy's work on local drug trafficking.
• The assailant fled the scene, and police recovered shell casings.
• Sy frequently contributed to the local Sapol News Bulletin.