Cop killed, 3 civilians hurt in Sultan Kudarat gun attack

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Gunmen killed a police master sergeant and seriously wounded three civilians in a gun attack near a carnival in Barangay Poblacion 1 in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat before dawn Tuesday, December 31.

Master Sgt. Louie Noble, an intelligence agent under the Lebak Municipal Police Station, died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds sustained in the attack that also left his companions, Cresencio Sia, Ronaldo Fernando and Christian Pedro, badly wounded.

Officials of the Lebak municipal police and local officials told reporters on Tuesday morning that Noble, along with volunteer community watchmen, were guarding merrymakers in a carnival in Purok Narra 1 in Barangay Poblacion 1 in the seaside Lebak town when gunmen approached him and his three companions and shot them repeatedly with .45 and .40 caliber pistols.

Their attackers hurriedly escaped amid the commotion triggered by the gunshots that reverberated through the scene.

Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Ardiente, director of the Police Regional Office-12, has ordered the officials of the Lebak police force to enlist the help of local executives in identifying the killers of Noble for prosecution.

Noble, an Ilocano, is known in Lebak as a dedicated and hardworking policeman who had, in recent years, efficiently tracked down more than 20 wanted persons in the municipality and from other provinces who tried to hide in isolated barangays in the area.