A 22-YEAR-OLD nursing student was injured after a construction worker took her hostage during a foiled robbery attempt at Natalio Bacalso Avenue, Cebu City fronting the National Police Commission (Napolcom) office at past 10:45 a.m. today.
Nieza Abarca was with a friend when the 35-year-old suspect Reniel Villacampa, approached and grabbed her by the neck and threatened her with a broken glass bottle.
SPO4 Jelson Solibio, one of the three responding officers said the hostage taking took five minutes. Villacampa accidentally dropped the broken glass bottle.
Abarca told reporters that she had just finished enrollment when the incident occurred. She said she offered her bag to the suspect so he would release her but the suspect refused as he tried to hail a taxi and force her to get in.
Solibio, who was eating lunch in a nearby area, said onlookers reported the incident to the police. The suspect sustained a wound in his face.
Solibio said Villacampa intended only to rob Abarca but when he dropped the bottle, he strangled her and held her hostage.
Villacampa told dyAB that he had been wandering the city streets for two days now since he was laid off by a company. He said he had no money and was unable to eat or go home.
Villacampa said he was so desperate that when he saw Abarca walking towards him he thought of just robbing her and getting a taxi so he can go home.
He said he didn’t really want to hurt Abarca and panicked when he saw the bystanders, causing him to drop the glass bottle. Villacampa said he grabbed Abarca’s neck to avoid getting swarmed by the bystanders.
Villacampa is now detained at the Punta police precinct pending the filing of charges against him.