An employee of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was shot to death by still unidentified individuals at Barangay Mambaroto in Negros Occidental’s Sipalay City yesterday morning.

The victim was identified as 57-year-old Andre Maria Pajarillo, a senior agrarian reform technologist of DAR-Sipalay, and a resident of Candoni town’s Barangay East Proper.

An initial police investigation revealed that Pajarillo, while riding his motorcycle, was shot by an unidentified suspect at 8:35 a.m.

The victim succumbed to two gunshot wounds to the head.

Pajarillo was rushed to the Sipalay City Health Office, but was declared dead on arrival.

Two fired cartridges from a caliber .9mm were also recovered from the crime scene.

The hot pursuit operation is ongoing, and the authorities have established checkpoints within the village.

The shooting was believed to be work-related, police said.

An investigation is ongoing./WDJ