Staff Sergeant Reniel Marin was shot and killed after responding to a road rage incident in Candelaria town, Quezon province on May 6. (Photo courtesy of Quezon PNP)
LUCENA CITY – The Philippine National Police (PNP) force in Quezon province mourned the death of a colleague killed while responding to a road rage incident in Candelaria town on May 6.
In a statement on Sunday, Quezon police chief Colonel Ledon Monte vowed that the whole police force would not stop in their pursuit to bring justice to Police Staff Sergeant Reniel Marin’s death.
The police reported that Morfe Azul, 35, who was driving his tricycle, confronted around 11:30 a.m. Teodulo Rustia Jr., 46, for blocking the road with his parked tricycle in Barangay Bukal Sur.
A heated argument ensued between the two, which prompted Rustia to grab his handgun and shoot Azul in the body and head.
Rustia fled after the shooting while Azul was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Marin and a team of policemen conducted a hot-pursuit operation and went to Rustia’s house in the same village.
Azul’s brother, Efren, 35, who lived in the same village, suddenly appeared and shot the policemen who were talking to Rustia’s wife. Efren fled after the shooting.
Marin was hit on his right chest, while Erica Shane Resma, 12, Rustia’s stepdaughter, was hit by a stray bullet on her buttock.
The two were rushed to the Peter Paul Medical Center in the locality. Marin, 29, died at 5:52 p.m. while undergoing treatment.
Investigators said Efren probably thought that the cops were the ones who shot his brother.
The police launched a manhunt to arrest the suspects. INQ