A German-Italian hotel executive in the Philippines was shot dead Thursday on a busy street in the capital, police said, according to dpa. Sergio Mazza, 38, died from three gunshot wounds to the head, Chief Superintendent Jose de los Santos said. Delos Santos said Mazza, director of food and beverage for the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, was on his way to work when a lone gunman approached and fired at him without warning. Makati is a suburban city of Metropolitan Manila. He said police have ruled out robbery as a motive for the killing. "It appeared that the gunman was already waiting for the victim who was living near the area where he was killed," he said. "We ruled out robbery because his belongings were intact, including a Blackberry phone and 20,000 pesos (435 dollars) in cash." Pit Heltmann, deputy head of the German Embassy in Manila, said the victim "was a German national" in addition to holding Italian citizenship. Reto Klauser, general manager of the Shangri-La Hotel, said "We are extremely saddened by this loss and would like to express our sincerest condolences to his family." "We are working closely with police authorities who have started a thorough investigation," he added.
