Sabah police surround island as gunman continues to elude capture

KOTA KINABALU: Police are maintaining a tight ring around a notorious Filipino settlement in Pulau Gaya, off the city here, where a gunman opened fire and injured three people, including two children.

The unidentified suspect, who was thought to have been hiding in the Kg Pondo settlement on the island, has slipped out of his hiding place in a boat under hundreds of wooden stilt houses of the island.

Police suspect he might have gone into the jungles on the island after he slipped away early on Thursday (Feb 6).

Kota Kinabalu city police chief Asst Comm Habibi Majinji said they thought the suspect was armed with a long rifle and might have been targeting one of the victims when he opened fire.

"We believe the shooter is armed with a long-barrel weapon. We are exercising caution in trying to capture him. I believe we will be able to get him," he said, advising the public not to be unduly worried.

Discounting it as a possible random attack, he said the suspect, aged between 30 and 40, seemed to be targeting one of the victims in the incident that took place around 7.30pm on Wednesday (Feb 5).

"Our investigations indicate that the suspect came in a blue pump boat and when he reached the gangway of the water village, he opened fire in the direction of the victims," he said, adding that some witnesses claimed that they heard five to six shots.

"This is an isolated case so the public need not be worried," he said, but declined to speculate whether police suspected family feuds or revenge over smuggling activities might be behind the shooting.

Police teams from the city as well as marine police have surrounded the island for the past 24-hours and are expected to maintain a cordon as they track down the suspect.

In the incident, two children, aged three and 10, and a 36 year-old man sustained gunshot wounds when the man opened fire at them along the gangway of the wooden stilt houses at the island's Kg Lok Urai adjacent to Kg Pondo.

The three-year-old is believed to have suffered gunshot wounds to his back, the 10-year-old to his abdomen and the man suffered injuries to his legs in the shooting.

All victims are believed to have been "hanging" out along the wooden bridge of the stilt houses when the attack happened.

ACP Habibi said the three victims were in a stable condition and were recovering at the hospital. The adult victim might have to have his legs amputated.

He said police had eased the lockdown in and out of the island but were continuing to check the movements of islanders.

"Our investigations are on-going, we are trying to identify the suspect," he said.