Policemen search for the suspect in a crowded alley in Barangay Lorega San Miguel, Cebu City. | Screen grabbed from a CCTV footage of the chase
CEBU CITY, Philippines — An attempt to rob a softdrink truck sales agent led to a brief chase into a crowded alley, a shootout between police and the robber and the culprit’s death along a busy thoroughfare in Cebu City at past 11 a.m. on Monday, July 22.
The still unidentified robber died after he suffered gunshot wounds in the body during the shootout with police along MJ Cuenco Avenue in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City, said Police Captain Armando Labora, Parian police station chief, in a phone interview with CDN Digital on July 22.
Investigation showed that at past 11 a.m. as Greggy Senining, a softdrink sales agent, was driving the softdrink van along Imus Road a man suddenly blocked the van’s path and pointed a gun at him.
Senining told police that he refused to get off the van and this caused traffic to pile up in the area.
This also prompted police officers from the Parian Police Precinct, who were conducting a checkpoint about 200 meters away, to check what the cause of the traffic was about.
It was then that as they approached the area when the armed man noticed the police officers and fled toward an alley in Barangay Lorega San Miguel.
The police officers gave chase and ended in the crowded alley where the suspect tried to blend in with the crowd.
The police officers continued to look for the armed man among the crowd, and then one of them saw him and grabbed him from behind. The suspect, however, struggled and managed to free himself.
He then fled into the other direction out of the alley toward Barangay Tejero area. He also fired at the police officers as he fled the area.
The chase continued with the armed man trying to stop a vehicle along MJ Cuenco Avenue in Barangay Tejero area to try to board it, but the driver did not stop and sped away.
It was then the police officers caught up with him and a shootout ensued, ending with the armed man lying dead in the street.
“Naa pa gyud na syay gitiunan ga laing sakyanan kay mo sakay siya,” Labora said.
(He again tried to stop a vehicle by pointing a gun at the driver to try to board it and use it to escape from the police.)/dbs