#usm is still running from the police

[flynamu]

Fixing Spidey's Cannon Event

Part 2

[spider-xan]

Okay, I was finally able to find a PDF of the Hobgoblin arc in the original USM comics and read it this morning after putting it off for years; for context, I followed USM as it was coming out during the 2000s and stopped when Gwen was killed off during the Carnage arc, only sporadically checking things years after print, so technically I had last seen the USM version of Harry at the end of the Ultimate Six storyline way back during its original run, and all I knew is that Harry died eventually, though I misremembered when exactly.

Anyway, I wasn't going to liveblog my read through, though I did wish I had jotted down thoughts as I was going along bc I have a lot of general and specific thoughts that I can't remember off the top of my head, and maybe I will go back later to jog my memory, but here are my main thoughts on the storyline:

It's just okay? It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it's good either - the most accurate description I can think of is that it felt more like set up for the next Goblin arc than a complete story in and of itself bc most of it is just Harry running around for exposition until he becomes the Hobgoblin unintentionally right at the end and it's over in one issue.

I think I would have enjoyed the story a lot more if I had read it as a teenager bc as an adult, I just really didn't care about all the high school dating drama, and the love triangle but not really between Peter, Harry, and MJ is a major part of the character drama, and I just don't find it compelling now, even if it makes sense for characters who are supposed to be fifteen.

USM had this weird thing where each arc was heavily decompressed, but the overall pacing both in terms of in universe events and the plotting of arcs was highly compressed in that ten years of real time publishing takes places within a year of the in universe timeline, so major events happen at a breakneck pace within months of Peter becoming Spider-Man - and Harry as a character definitely suffers from this bc this version of him feels very underdeveloped; from what I remember about the issues that one before this arc, he disappears for very long stretches of time where he reappears for a few issues before disappearing again, and he doesn't really get much depth as a character or in terms of his relationships, especially with Peter, like, tbh I still feel like I don't know anything about this Harry and had a time really buying them as close childhood friends forever in this universe, so the intended emotional moments didn't hit as hard for me as they were supposed to, and Harry's general absence is definitely why so much of the arc was just exposition for setting up the next Goblin arc.

I generally like Bagley's art, but I do think he has a problem with consistency when it comes to faces (and same face, especially for women) and his faces sometimes look weirdly rubbery and like people are melting, though in fairness, I remember USM being on a fast schedule, so it's not really his fault - anyway, with Harry, his design is inconsistent in a jarring way bc in some panels, he does look like a teenager, but in other panels, he looks like a grown man in his twenties or even thirties, which makes the intended hard hitting moments of him just being a child kind of awkward.

There is a certain scene that is just awful in terms of the copaganda (taps the sign that says that Spider-Man is not ACAB) that reads even worse today, and it's weird bc you could do a reading of the scene as being about police corruption, but it's framed as a positive bonding moment between two cops (Spider-Man not beating the Spider-Cop allegations) - though I suddenly remembered that I think Jean DeWolffe in this universe turns out to be a corrupt cop (shaking my head to show I think all cops are corrupt) instead of the Good Cop TM she is in the 616 comics, so maybe this scene was supposed to be read as shady and not like girlboss cop thing.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Here is my new theory for who Kindred could be.

It's Gwen Stacy.

Not a clone of her. Not a duplicate. Not a clone or duplicate that previously existed or a newly formed one.

The bona fide article.

She is not only the only person who fits all the clues but she also makes way too much sense on a metatextual level.

1) Kindred has been heavily implied to be a pre-existing deceased character and of course Gwen is one of the two most famously deceased characters in Spider-Man

2) Spencer has reaffirmed that Mysterio did in fact die back in the 'Guardian Devil' arc of Daredevil and Kindred consequently brought him back to life.

Putting aside how Gwen as a fellow dead person could've been in a position to do that, this means that Kindred must've been working from behind the scenes since at least USM Annual #3 circa 2008. Thanks to Spider-Men we know retroactively that this was the first time Mysterio showed up alive and well in a Spider-Man comic book. In publication order this was ASM #618 from 2010; hmm Mysterio was confirmed as alive 10 years ago, isn't THAT interesting?

Either way his return occurred after Friendly Neighborhood #11-13 where he was already shown as an undead servant of Hell; which of course was pre-OMD.

Even if we argued Beck wasn't working for Kindred in the latter arc it still means that Kindred must be someone who was dead before 2008-2010. Gwen obviously fits this profile.

3) This is where some metatextual circumstantial evidence starts to come into play. Who ELSE died in 'Guardian Devil'? Karen Page ANOTHER blonde girlfriend created by Stan Lee in the 1960s. And she was the girlfriend to Daredevil no less, who traditionally has been associated with Spider-Man one way or another; they've shared villains, been street level characters and pre-Frank Miller Daredevil was treated as a low-rent Spidey.

If you know a little of the behind-the-scenes for 'Guardian Devil' as well as check out Daredevil #1/2 you can see that Karen's death occurred for sort of similar reasons as OMD happened, but also for sort of similar reasons for why Gwen was killed off in 1973.

4) And just who were the creators working on 'Guardian Devil', the guys who felt Karen should die?

Well one of them was Kevin Smith, the guy who also infamously wrote a mini-series involving one of Spencer's favourite characters (Black Cat, who Kindred has also been shown observing) that also reintroduced a new version of Mysterio, Francis Klum who appeared in FNSM #11-13.

The other was...Joe Quesada. Not only did 'Guardian Devil' involve Mephisto briefly but Quesada wanted to revive Gwen with One More Day until brevoort talked him out of it.

5) Kindred first appears in a courthouse. This is a very loose connection I will admit but the courthouse is part of the justice system and Gwen's father was a decorated police captain. After his death she also supported a hardline law and order [b][u]mayoral candidate[/u][/b].

6) In Spencer's second arc, Kindred directly interacts with the [b][u]current mayo[/u][/b]r of NYC and recurring character under Spencer's run: Wilson Fisk.

7) Gwen has reason to resent Kingpin and make him bow because in Stan's run (the Brand of the Brainwasher arc IIRC) he brainwashed her father and jeopardize his and her life.

8) In Spencer's third arc Kindred is angry that Peter has revealed his identity to Black Cat. Gwen never interacted with Felicia, but Kindred's reaction makes a lot of sense if it was Gwen behind the mask. Gwen would be mad that Peter was bringing yet another woman into the crossfire of his life, endangering her life just as Gwen's was. Equally she might be mad that Peter revealed the truth to Felicia but not to herself

9) In Hunted and ASM #826, Kindred expresses a desire to keep MJ out of the conflict and even arranges for her to be off in Hollywood. This would be a logical thing for Gwen to do if she bears a grudge against Peter. MJ was her friend so she wouldn't want her hurt in general, but more importantly she doesn't want MJ to be caught in the crossfire just as she was.

10) In Absolute Carnage we have Kindred talking to Norman, clearly holding disdain for him and enjoying his pathetic state. The connection speaks for itself but noticeably Kindred says that Norman is responsible for turning him/her into what they are now. This would make sense if you argue Gwen become undead and twisted was the result of her murder. Norman didn't administer the killing blow (it was Peter when he accidentally broke Gwen's neck) but Norman still put her in that position in the first place, he still abducted her and knocked her off the bridge.

11) If Spencer was REALLY being brave this could work in the context of Sins Past too. Gwen might not only have become twisted by her death but also by having to deal with her pregnancy in total secrecy, by having to leave her children, by having them taken from her when she died and knowing Norman took them and corrupted them. If you argue Norman, even briefly on some level, felt any affection for Gwen, then  seeing her become a twisted villain like himself might give him cause to feel proud of her as he was in ASM #832

12) Gwen appeared in the flashbacks in ASM #831-832, the ones harkening back to the Silver Age

13) Harry Osborn was so heavily hinted at in those issues it HAS to be a red herring

14) Kindred's outfit doesn't hint at his/her sex, but Kindred's 'framing' within the narrative has I'd argue been more masculine. I think the proof of this is that most people have been guessing various male characters. That could be deliberate to throw us off the scent

15) Even if you feel that Kindred's body build is too masculine to be Gwen, remember Kindred has insects, rats and other critters inside his/her bandages, meaning the body buildhe/she appears to have might not be the body build he/she actually has

16) Want some more meta evidence? Kindred is a hooded figure who can clearly crawl on walls? Reminiscent of Spider-Gwen isn't it?

17) Of all characters who would suspect Gwen Stacy? Everyone regards her as too much of a sacred cow to touch, making her surely the most shocking reveal ever!

18) In response to that last point you might be saying

[quote]Of course no one suspects that. We don't suspect that BECAUSE Marvel would absolutely NEVER turn Gwen Stacy into a demonic undead villain[/quote]

And 10 years ago I might've agreed with you.

But nowadays Gwen Stacy's profile is distinctly different.

Within the mind of the general public I'd argue that Gwen Stacy's status as 'Spider-Man's dead girlfriend' has been supplanted (or at the very least challenged) by her status as Spider-Gwen.

She has appeared in no end of merchandise and cosplays in that form and of course in two cartoons and a hit animated feature.

In fact I went to Marvel.com and searched for 'Gwen Stacy' in their character section. You can ONLY find Ghost-Spider/Spider-Gwen, not the 616 version of the character.

With Spider-Gwen around I'd argue that Marvel regards 616 Gwen as far less of a sacred cow than they used to.

To be clear, I'm not saying that I necessarily WANT this to be the payoff to Kindred. But I now heavily suspect it will be.

[phgq]

Guv assures justice for 9 slain Kabacan farmers

#PHnews: Guv assures justice for 9 slain Kabacan farmers

COTABATO CITY – North Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco has assured relatives of the nine Moro farmers killed in the recent mass shooting in Kabacan town that the provincial government will help them attain justice. Catamco made the assurance when she met Tuesday with the spouses and immediate families of nine victims who were killed by still unidentified gunmen near the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) campus on Aug. 29. Various speculations have emerged as to the identities of the perpetrators, with relatives of one of the victims alleging that policemen were behind the killing based on the “dying statement” by one of the victims who later died in the hospital. Eight of the farmers died on the spot during the incident. Police said about five gunmen flagged down the victims who were on motorbikes heading to Barangay Aringay and demanded identification cards from the farmers. They were subsequently shot at close range and the gunmen quickly fled the scene. Responding members of Kabacan police rushed one of the victims to the hospital but the latter died three hours later. "Whether the perpetrators are in the government or anywhere connected, the provincial government will not side with anybody but justice,” Catamco said during the dialogue held Tuesday at the residence of Kabacan Mayor Herlo Guzman. “We will pursue them whoever they are and wherever they may be,” she said, adding North Cotabato residents should not rush to characterize the incident as a product of any conflict between the Muslims and Christians in the area. “The Muslim-Christin relationship in Kabacan is good; let us avoid speculations,” Catamco said, even as she asked the trust and support of the victims’ families in seeking justice. The mayor, meanwhile, has called on everyone to remain “calm but vigilant.” "Let us not put the law in our hands, let us allow the law to take its course,” Guzman said in the vernacular. He called on anyone who has information on the whereabouts of perpetrators to come forward, assuring them of protection. National Bureau of Investigation-12 director Romeo Cotingjo said their probe is nearing completion. He also asked the relatives and other witnesses to come forward. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Guv assures justice for 9 slain Kabacan farmers." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114886 (accessed September 10, 2020 at 02:27AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Guv assures justice for 9 slain Kabacan farmers." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114886 (archived).

[the-hindu-times]

December 2016 Reviews Roundup

After a Courteeners’ New Slang appearance was cut short by Liam Fray being unable to continue from being struck by a plastic bottle on the first day of the month, the following evening saw a full [mainly] solo performance by Mull Historical Society at St Pancras Old Church. Combing pure acoustic renditions, with piano and cello duets, and playing along to self made backing tracks, in-between book readings from his novel ‘The Letters of Ivor Punch’, the natural reverb in this intermate setting enhanced the moments of delicate beauty whilst simultaneously making the big songs even fuller. Turning down encore requests for 2003 ‘US’ highlight ‘Asylum’ (a song that defines MHS; with his Police styled trademark of repeating the same line and melody over different chords in the chorus. Colin MacIntyre’s ability to pull out an uplifting middle 8 within this tune here gives the listener something stronger than alcohol to enhance their current mood of either wanting to break down and cry or smash up a phone box before jumping for joy and punching the air) in favour for fellow album track (and sequel to ‘Barcode Bypass’) ‘The Supermarket Strikes Back’ on his new Martin acoustic - an instrument that offers the potential for a more professional and clean cut future in live performance, from which his shambolic past will be sorely missed.

The Arts Depot (a small theatre we had visited before; travelling to North Finchley for a Ricky Gervais ‘Work In Progress’) was, this afternoon, hosting the stage production of ‘Mr Popper’s Penguins’ before its move to the Criterion Theatre (where we reviewed Nina Conti) in central. Parents with young toddlers in hand, the straight through run (no interval) may not have provided the children with enough light gimmicks to hold their attention... until the fake snow fell from the ceiling, distracting the youngsters away from the stage and their seats. The show is certainly aimed at all age groups, with original songs and the highest form of acting making it a strong competitor along with any other West End show.

I’m not sure why Cast keep choosing to play at Shepherds Bush Empire every year. Apart from when we saw them at Brixton Electric a couple of winters ago, they’ve always chosen this joint yet never have enough interest to even put tickets for two of the balconies on sale. This is surprising when timeless classics such as ‘Walkaway’ and ‘Live The Dream’, which could easily be mistaken for a Beatles’ hit, still can’t be beaten in the world of songwriting and production. Like many bands from the ‘90s ‘Britpop’ era, that is very much where Cast have remained. Groups like Shed Seven and The Lightning Seeds strongly stick to their hits from back in their hayday in their live set list, yet bands like Ocean Colour Scene, Dodgy and Cast insist on writing, releasing and performing new material which is tolerated... but not welcomed, like at a Charlatans or Paul Weller gig. Tonight, there’s a girl down the front who seems like she’s at completely the wrong gig altogether; dancing away to everything - new and old. But the rest in attendance just seem to want a trip down memory lane to when the likes of ‘Sandstorm’, ‘Finetime’, ‘I’m So Lonely’, ‘Flying’, ‘Guiding Star’, ‘Free Me’, ‘History’ and ‘Alright’ would have been exciting, fresh new future classics. The new songs tonight don’t leave any space for standard set highlights ‘Beat Mama’ and ‘Magic Hour’ but this is no ‘90s revival, and guitarist ‘Skin’ still treats things the same as when they were at the peak of their success;  swapping different guitars after every song whilst sporting the same effects rack as U2′s The Edge.  The last time we saw Cast at Shepherds Bush Empire was actually the first time I ever got around to seeing them play live since they reformed; They were on a joint tour with declining Brummies, The Twang, and many punters were there just for that band, leaving just one row of people at the front by the time the headliners got to their unrequested  encore. Tonight everyone is with Cast until the final note... yet, being a Sunday night, they flee for the exits before the band can even finish taking a bow.

A few days later, and Kula Shaker were in town; performing at one of the best venues around - Guildford’s G Live. This was definitely a better option than seeing them at Kentish Town’s Forum, where they were to play for two nights on this tour, and would have been a similar experience to their Roundhouse show at the beginning of the year. Tonight’s venue could surely contend with being as good as seeing them at Walton’s Music Hall in Shadwell back in the summer. Support for this run of dates came from Folkestone trio, Rudy Warman & The Heavy Weather, with singer/songwriter, Rudy,’s brother on drums, and dad on bass (who was concerned about his vintage amp smoking during soundcheck), championed as “the best band we’ve ever played with” by 44 year old (on 18th Jan 2017) Kula Shaker main man, Crispian Mills.

It’s the first time I’ve seen G Live set out like this – the seating spanned diagonally all the way down to the ground, whilst leaving plenty of room in front for those wishing to be on their feet, rather than only having top level balcony seating or floor standing - and it made every aspect of the event better for it, . Unlike Kentish Town Forum or a mile away at The Roundhouse, G Live has such a perfectly clear sound; truly representing the instruments through the PA speakers. For the first couple of Kula Shaker’s songs (a take on ‘Sgt. Peppers’  Lonely Hearts Club Band’, made relevant to their carer, and latest 7” single ‘Let Love B (With U)’), the mix was absolutely shocking – this may well have also been the case when they played the Chalk Farm venue but the muffled sound in the former train depot would have made it difficult to tell either way. After a ropy start, the rest of the set was complete perfection, just in time for ‘Hey Dude’, making one of the best shows of the year. Billed as performing their debut album ‘K’ in its entirety, marking its 20 year anniversary, they do play every song from this album but not in order, with B sides from that era, (including the original version of hit single ‘Shower Your Love’) and tracks from other albums played in-between. Fan favorite ‘Mystical Machine Gun’ and usual set opener ‘Sound Of Drums’ are absent tonight in order to make way for a ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing / Shakermaker’ cover as a finale.

After a massive Biffy Clyro gig at the Millennium Dome (known better for its mobile phone sponsorship), where people were lucky to make their way to the front of the ticket collection que (let alone the que to get into the gig!) before the show was over, we were back a Guildford’s G Live for Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls. Disappointingly the venue was back to its usual lay out of floor standing and balcony seating. The overall sound seemed to get a bit lost up on the balcony, possibly because of this – echoing around and not being as on point as usual at this venue.  Not only being the closest venue on this tour to his home town of Winchester, it’s also the closest to London, so a lot of Frank’s family, former band mates and friends are in tonight – one of which he forces to crowd surf (after he’d first had the experience in this very venue at a Carter USM gig years before). Slightly changing the setlist every night, especially during the 3 song acoustic interlude, unfortunately meant that ‘Mittens’ – a highlight from the new album ‘Positive Songs For Negative People’ - was left out altogether. After a slightly hypocritically naive rant of “it’s not all about what’s going on between your own two ears”, it was back to business with just over half of the night dedicated to the most recent 2 LPs. Maybe FT has set the bar too high, and he’ll certainly never go under the slightly lower bar but his voice wasn’t quite there tonight – caused from the way (and how often) he sings, and appearing to be more noticeable up on the balcony; as you a sat listening, rather than mainly hearing the sound of your own voice screaming along. This is still one of the best feel good shows around with big choruses about negative topics that make you feel positive with the acknowledgement of agreement, whilst proving that the excitement generated from the passion in the voice will always outweigh a ‘prim and proper’ technique. 

Another regular venue for us is the New Victoria Theatre in Woking – and tonight it’s press night for the pantomime. The main attraction of Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs is the appearance of Warwick Davis, who had turned down going to the Star Wars premiere this evening to continue to act and direct in the Panto, who’s dwarfs all featured in his Ricky Gervais sitcom ‘Life’s Too Short’. Chris Cox’s interlude of magic and mind riding was good enough for its own show but the starring role came from usual Bristol panto regular, Andy Ford, who’s Lee Evans stylings lead people to want to book tickets to his own stand up night there next month, which he managed to get a mention in whilst on stage.

After a Busted acoustic set at New Slang, almost as brief as The Courteeners, we returned to the Millennium Dome to visit the smaller ‘Indigo’ venue for The Darkness’ only UK Christmas show. With the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the main room, once again the ticket collection que situated outside in the freezing cold made us glad we were not attending that show. Those who had bought tickets off the venue’s official distributor ‘StubHub’ were unable to collect their tickets altogether as the machines (the only way to collect these types of tickets) were out of order – forcing punters to shell out another £100 at the box office with no come back. The venue make sure they have no staff to help with these machines but instead employ security who’s main job is to turf those out who are looking to offload any spare tickets to genuine fans. There’s already a mechanism on these StubHub machines that makes it so you can not purchase tickets once doors have opened to the actual venue, allowing the company to keep the money for the unused tickets as well as taking more money at the box office for those who’s only option is to buy from there. Having been impressed with The Darkness at Portsmouth’s 2015 Victorious Festival, we traveled down to the area again for their Christmas show at Southampton Guildhall that same year but viewed it as a disappointment in comparison, mainly due to the poor sound quality. It was a similar story tonight, sounding like there was too much reverb on everything, echoing around the circular building. The design of the huge balcony is one of the reasons not to return to this venue, with even the front few rows being restricted view seats and situated right next to the PA system. With the best venue inside the Millennium Dome complex, The Brooklyn Bowl, now closed for business, there will have to be a very good reason to bring us back there.

words: Nic Bennett live pictures: Tasha Luckhurst

[phgq]

Families of 9 men slain in Kabacan get aid

#PHnews: Families of 9 men slain in Kabacan get aid

COTABATO CITY -- The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has provided financial and non-monetary assistance to the families of nine Moro men who were slain in the recent gun attack in Kabacan, North Cotabato. BARMM Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) Minister Naguib Sinarimbo and BARMM Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) Minister Raisa Jajurie handed over PHP70,000 financial aid to each of the families of the slain men, mostly ordinary farmers. The nine men were killed by a still-unidentified group of gunmen in Kabacan last August 29 along a road just beside the state-run University of Southern Mindanao (USM) campus. Sinarimbo, the concurrent BARMM spokesperson, said PHP50,000 from MILG and PHP20,000 from MSSD were given to each family. The BARMM also gave the families a bag of rice each as humanitarian assistance. The two BARMM officials held a dialogue with the relatives of the slain victims who all demanded an impartial probe so that justice will be served. The victims, Kors Salilangan, Sandigan Zailon, Benladin Dimanalao, Musaid Jaiden, Romeo Balatamay, Katindig Kagayawon, Fahad Mandigan, Budsal Lipusan, and Tong Guiaman, died from multiple bullet wounds. They were flagged down by gunmen armed with long firearms and ordered to present identification cards. Thinking they were police officers, the victims parked their motorbikes beside the highway to subject themselves for inspection. However, the armed men opened fire, killing eight on the spot. Responding police officers rushed the critically wounded Guiaman, the ninth victim, to the hospital but died hours later. Police said they are still pursuing leads to determine the identities of the perpetrators and the motive of the attack. “All they want now is impartial probe so that justice is achieved,” Sinarimbo said. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Families of 9 men slain in Kabacan get aid ." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114384 (accessed September 05, 2020 at 04:17AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Families of 9 men slain in Kabacan get aid ." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114384 (archived).

[phgq]

Task group expedites probe on NoCot shooting incident

#PHnews: Task group expedites probe on NoCot shooting incident

KABACAN, North Cotabato – The North Cotabato Police Provincial Office (NCPPO) has formed a special investigation unit to look into the killing of nine persons at a secluded section of Barangay Poblacion here on Saturday.

Killed on the spot in the 12:30 p.m. shooting incident along Aringay Road in the Poblacion were Kors Salilangan, Sandigan Zailon, Benladin Dimanalao, Romeo Balatamay, Katindig Kagayawon, Fahad Mandigan, all from this town; Budsal Lipusin of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao; and Musaid Jaiden of Midsayap, North Cotabato.

The ninth victim, Tong Guiman of Barangay Aringay, Kabacan, died hours after he was rushed to a local hospital.

Maj. Peter Pinalgan, Kabacan police chief, said Col. Henry Villar, provincial police director, ordered the creation of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to resolve the multiple angles shrouding the incident.

The SITG would comprise the Kabacan police, the NCCPO intelligence unit, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) North Cotabato.

“We would like to determine who the killers are, where the victims came from prior to the shooting incident, and what led the perpetrators to shoot them,” Pinalgan told the Philippine News Agency in an interview Sunday.

Initial police investigation disclosed that some five suspects armed with high-powered firearms stopped the motorcycle-riding victims along the provincial road at the rear section of the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) campus and subsequently fired at them for still unknown reasons.

“The SITG is also set to establish who the main target of the killers is and if there really was a shootout as earlier mentioned by witnesses,” Pinalgan said.

He said Guiman, while critical in his hospital bed, was able to relay some details of the incident before he died. Police crime scene investigators disclosed that the slain victims were not armed when found.

Pinalgan reiterated that the incident is not a police operation as earlier surmised “as cops merely responded to the incident.”

Recovered at the crime scene were 32 empty shells from an M16 rifle, M1 Carbine rifle, and .45 caliber pistol.

He said the SITG is also set to determine as to what type of vehicles the killers used in their escape as there are also conflicting reports.

“Some of the witnesses said the killers used a pickup truck while others disclosed they sped off aboard motorcycles while escaping,” Pinalgan said.

Pinalgan said there are several “persons of interest” currently being monitored but he declined to comment further. (PNA)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Task group expedites probe on NoCot shooting incident." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113847 (accessed August 30, 2020 at 09:15PM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Task group expedites probe on NoCot shooting incident." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1113847 (archived).