Police in the Philippines are investigating the murder of a New Brunswick man.
Harry Joseph Doyle was born and raised in Fredericton but moved to the Philippines more than a decade ago.
Doyle was reportedly gunned down at a beach resort in Surigao City on Sunday and his friends believe he may have been the victim of a hit.
According to reports, the situation escalated and when Doyle pushed one of the men away, the second suspect drew a gun and shot him. The suspects then fled the scene.
Ed Carten says he and Doyle had a rocky relationship when they first met nearly 50 years ago, but they quickly became the best of friends.
Stunned and saddened by his friend’s death, Carten is speaking out about the attack.
“Some beggars came looking for food. Well, Harry would never turn anybody away for food…it was a hit and probably because he would refuse to pay kickbacks to anybody,” speculates Carten. “He just didn’t believe in it.”
Police in Surigao City are investigating the attack, which wasn’t the first on the 62-year-old businessman.
A picture on Doyle’s personal Facebook page shows where a bullet struck his window in February.
“He called me up and said somebody tried to shoot him,” says Carten. “He said ‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ but he said ‘I have $300,000 in real estate and I just can’t leave that behind.”
Doyle had lived in the Philippines for more than a decade but still maintained property in his hometown of Fredericton. He was due to return home for a visit in just a few weeks.
Close friend George Miles grew up with Doyle. He says as kind and generous as he was, he wasn’t the type to back down from anything.
“Harry was known to speak his mind and that’s probably what happened to him,” says Miles.
Carten spoke to Doyle’s wife today on the telephone and says she plans to return with her husband’s remains for a funeral later this month.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell
