Cebu City: Argument over pictures leads to stabbing, wounding of rider

File photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – An argument that ensued between two men along the road in Barangay Kinasang-an, Cebu City on the early hours of Saturday, February 8, escalated into a bloody stabbing incident that sent one man to the hospital.

The fight reportedly started because the assailant was taking pictures of the victim without his consent.

The stabbing incident took place along the road at around 3:40 a.m. on Saturday.

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Authorities identified the victim was as 33-year-old Alfred Casurra Pareja, a habal-habal driver and a resident of Brgy. Mambaling.

Michael Sinsuat, Barangay Police Security Officer team leader of Barangay Kinasang-an, Cebu City, described the incident in an interview with CDN Digital.

How it happened

According to him, the unidentified assailant approached the victim while he was parked by the side of the road.

The assailant allegedly started taking pictures of the habal-habal driver which prompted the victim to call him out. 

When the victim questioned why he was being photographed, an argument ensued between the two of them. 

Police Lieutenant Colonel Maria Theresa Macatangay, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), added that the two began throwing punches to each other until they reached the middle of the road. 

After the victim hit the assailant with a helmet, the latter then pulled out a bladed weapon believed to be an ice pick and stabbed him multiple times.

According to Sinsuat, the victim sustained multiple stab wounds on his chest and face.

The violent incident was captured on video by passersby in the area and it quickly went viral on social media.

Inayawan Police Chief Police Captain Christian Darcy Fat told CDN Digital that responding officers arrived at the scene at around 5:00 a.m. moments after receiving the report. However, the assailant had already fled the area. 

The victim, on the other hand, had already been rushed to the nearest hospital where he was recuperating from his injuries as of this writing.

Local police then launched an investigation to identify and apprehend the perpetrator behind the attack.

Fat said that they were in the process of backtracking Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in the area to get a lead on the investigation.

Following this incident, Fat urged members of the community to call the police immediately when they see potentially dangerous and violent situations instead of taking their phones out to record. 

“Police Station 7 reminds the general public that peace and order is everyone’s responsibility. We encourage everyone to prioritize calling the proper authorities first in cases where they need help before taking videos of the incidents,” he stated.