A 23-year-old criminology student was killed Saturday just minutes after he was arrested for allegedly gunning down a policeman in Manila.
Frederick Gelito, of Quezon City, was declared dead on arrival at the Jose Abad Santos General Hospital after he was shot right outside the Manila Police District (MPD) Meisic station 11, on Reina Regente and Soler Streets in Binondo, when he allegedly grabbed the gun of one of two policemen escorting him to the same hospital for a medical checkup.
The incident happened just minutes after Gelito was arrested for allegedly shooting dead PO1 Ramuel dela Cruz, of the Padre Algue police community precinct of the MPD Moriones, Tondo station 2.
Dela Cruz was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Metropolitan Hospital from a bullet wound in the back.
PO3 Jupiter Tajonera, of the MPD homicide section, said the incident started at around 1:30 p.m. at the corner of C.M. Recto Avenue and Antonio Rivera Street in Tondo.
Tajonera said Dela Cruz was then pursuing a robbery suspect who had preyed on a shopper inside the Tutuban Center Mall. The policeman and his colleagues were searching for the suspect at the street corner when Gelito allegedly appeared from behind Dela Cruz and shot him in the back with a sumpak (homemade shotgun).
Patrolling operatives of the MPD station 11 saw Gelito running away from the scene and caught up with him while other policemen brought Dela Cruz to the nearest hospital.
The case investigator pointed out that the MPD station 11 personnel arrested Gelito and brought him to the Meisic station for booking in connection with Dela Cruz’s killing.
But several minutes later, SPO1 Nicanor Zablan and PO3 Marlon Eusebio were tasked to bring Gelito to the Jose Abad Santos General Hospital for the mandatory medical checkup on arrested suspects.
The policemen were escorting Gelito onto a patrol car parked in front of the station when the suspect allegedly grabbed the gun of Eusebio from the holster on his waist.
“Zablan immediately reacted to neutralize the armed Gelito and shot him,” Tajonera told the Inquirer. The policemen brought the wounded suspect to the Jose Abad Santos General Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival from three bullet wounds in the body.
Operatives of the MPD homicide section have asked the two policemen involved in the incident to surrender their firearms for mandatory testing while they conduct further investigation into the two deaths.