Policeman killed in the school campus grenade explosion hailed a hero: number of injured rose to 16

The voter’s identification of Bashir Ibrahim, who was killed by the police after the grenade he used to threaten students at College exploded, killing a policeman and wounding 16 others. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental  —  Police Master Sergeant Jason Magno was a hero.

Being a hero was only one of the many praises that officials here heaped on Magno,  who died  when the grenade he picked up to protect the students of a school in Initao, Misamis Oriental exploded before he could throw it away.

Gov. Yevgeny Emano said Police Master Sergeant Jason Magno, 46,  was a hero who  sacrificed his life so that students would not be harmed.

“Magno sacrifice his life to shield the students and other bystanders. The grenade exploded on his hands,” Emano said.

Magno and the suspect, 65-year-old Ebrahim Ampaso Basher of Madalum town in Lanao del Sur,  died in the  incident that transpired inside the Initao College in Barangay Jampason of the town on Thursday morning, November 28, 2019.

Police Master Sergeant Alice Balido, nine students, two teachers, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) employee and a fish vendor were injured in the blast, bringing the total number of wounded to 16, from the earlier list of 11 injured.

It was Balido who was seen on video firing at the suspect.

Police Regional Office in Northern Mindanao (PRO-10) director Brigadier General Rolando Anduyan said more students could have been harmed had Magno not picked up and attempted to throw away the grenade.

“Magno made the supreme sacrifice to live up to the police motto, which is to serve and protect,” Anduyan said.

Anduyan said investigation revealed that the suspect went to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office in the town, which adjoins the Initao College,  to ask for the release of his truck that was intercepted for carrying a shipment of illegally cut lumber.

Anduyan said Basher allegedly threatened the DENR personnel with the grenade and a knife prompting them to seek shelter inside the school, which was only 800 meters away.

He said Basher chased the DENR into the school brandishing the grenade and a knife.

“We found the safety pin of the grenade inside the DENR office. We concluded that Basher wanted to explode the grenade,” Anduyan said.

Video footage from mobile phones uploaded on Facebook showed Basher walking back and forth in the campus and trying to enter one of the rooms.

Basher later walked into the covered court where a man in blue cap met him and tried to grab the grenade by applying an Aikido technique at the suspect.

An explosion was heard as Basher and the man grappled on the concrete floor. It was believed that it was at this point that Magno picked up the grenade, just seconds before it exploded.

Anduyan said hat  the explosion, policewoman Balido was seen firing at the suspect. /elb