NBI deputy wounded in Paco ambush

Gunmen riding a motorcycle ambushed and wounded a ranking official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and one of his two companions in Manila last night.

Reports from the Manila Police District’s Ermita substation said the assailants fired at the sports utility vehicle carrying lawyer Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI deputy director for technical services, after it made a turn from Taft Avenue toward Apacible Street in Paco at around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Esmeralda and his wounded companion, whose identity was not immediately known, were rushed to Manila Doctors Hospital for treatment.

Reached on the phone about an hour after the shooting, Ruel Lasala, NBI deputy director for intelligence services, said Esmeralda was out of danger.