2-1-2024 (MANILA) In a shocking incident on New Year’s Eve, Sgt. Alin Anthony Buna Jimenez, a 41-year-old soldier, allegedly went on a shooting rampage in Magpet town, Cotabato province, killing two villagers and injuring two minors. The suspect, affiliated with the 10th Civil Military Operation Battalion, is now in police custody.
The tragic event unfolded when Jimenez reportedly had an altercation with a villager questioning him about using a motorcycle without a license plate. Following the dispute, he left the scene but returned armed with a pistol, opening fire on bystanders near a roadside burger store in Barangay Poblacion in Magpet.
Among the victims, 18-year-old Eljey Repolidon lost his life in the town proper of Magpet. Jason Baclao, a friend of Repolidon who was wounded in the attack, later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. Two minors, one of whom is a local social media blogger, sustained minor injuries during the gun attack.
Major Danilo Dillera, Chief of the Magpet municipal police, disclosed that Jimenez was turned in by his superiors about 16 hours after the incident. Despite his initial escape, officers from the 2nd Company of the 10th CMO Battalion and the Army’s 72nd Infantry Battalion managed to apprehend him.
Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, director of the Police Regional Office-12, has directed the Magpet MPS and the Cotabato Provincial Police Office to swiftly file criminal charges against Jimenez.
