Unrepentant robber in Manila who shot vendor blames victim

A 36-year-old man accused of robbing and shooting a food vendor at Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila, justified his actions after his arrest on Wednesday night.

“We don’t have to kill. You all saw the CCTV [camera footage]. If he [had] only [given] me his bag, then I would not have shot him,” Alexander Ogdamina told reporters.

“My apologies but I talked to you. This would not have happened if you [had] believed me,” Ogdamina said, referring to the victim, Samson Bautista.

The 41-year-old Bautista who suffered a gunshot wound in the neck was reportedly in critical condition at a hospital.

The video of the shooting immediately went viral after it was posted on social media.

Members of the Manila Police District Station 5 arrested Ogdamina at his house in Baseco Compound, a slum area in Tondo, around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. He yielded a gun with bullets.

Police said the suspect had robbed Bautista who was parking his food cart on Bayani Street in Baseco.

Footage captured by a closed-circuit television camera in the area showed Ogdamina pointing a gun at the vendor while trying to seize the latter’s sling bag.

Inside the bag was Bautista’s earnings for the day from selling beef stew. When the vendor refused to give up his bag, the suspect shot him.

Ogdamina was positively identified by Bautista’s companion, Jason Espinosa, who fled moments after the suspect took out his gun.

The suspect had previous robbery cases and also admitted to using illegal drugs.

He now faces charges of robbery, frustrated murder and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said the victim would receive medical assistance.