Suspected robber shot dead by off-duty cop

INQUIRER files

MABALACAT, Pampanga — An off-duty policeman shot and killed a suspected robber in nearby Mexico town on Friday, April 25.

In a statement on Saturday (April 26), the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) said the father of Patrolman Pat Rey Lemuel Zabat saw a man breaking into the house of his neighbor at Malino Village around 3:45 a.m.

The policeman’s father immediately notified his son about what he saw and the latter proceeded to the crime scene.

READ: Ex-policeman dies fighting robbers in Rizal

The homeowner, who was awakened by noise, stood up from his bed and caught the suspect in the act of taking two mobile phones.

Startled, the suspect quickly tried to flee but he was confronted by Patrolman Zabat.

The PRO3 said the suspect tried to draw a handgun tucked in his waist, prompting the policeman to shoot him.

The robber was hit in the abdomen and died while being taken to the hospital.

The regional police did not say what caliber of gun the suspect, who remains unidentified, allegedly tried to pull out from his waistband.