Village watchman slain in gun attack in Bulacan; 2 assailants killed

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CAMP GEN. ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan — A village watchman in the City of Meycauayan in this province was killed while a resident there was wounded after armed men attacked the village hall on Jan. 20.

In a belated report on Monday, Jan. 22, Colonel Jordan Santiago, Meycauayan police chief, identified the slain watchman as Rodolfo Santiago, 63, of Barangay Bahay Pare, who suffered bullet wounds during the attack.

The police said the two armed men strafed the village hall at 8:12 p.m., hitting Rodolfo and a bystander.

The gun attack could have been carried out by the culprits after their companions were arrested for illegal drug trade in the locality, investigators said.

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Bulacan Police Director Colonel Relly Arnedo said members of the Meycauayan police immediately responded and engaged the assailants in a gunfight.

After the armed encounter, the two culprits were also killed. They were later identified as Andy Bernardo, 40, and Jerome Ballares, 30, both from Caloocan City.

Policemen recovered two.45-caliber firearms and magazines owned by the slain assailants. INQ