TAGUM CITY, Philippines—A policeman and a suspected robber were killed while another police officer was wounded during a shootout in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Tuesday morning, police authorities said.
Chief Inspector Hector Grijaldo, Nabunturan police chief, identified the slain policeman as Senior Police Officer 1 Julambri Astapan while the slain robber had yet to be identified.
Grijaldo said the police got a distress call about an armed man who was forcing his way into the house of a businessman in Barangay Poblacion around 8 a.m.
He said policemen caught up with the suspect but instead of yielding, the robber engaged them in a firefight.
Grijaldo said during the shootout, Astapan was hit in the chest and died, while another policeman, Police Officer 1 Edward Lagura, was grazed by another bullet from the suspect’s handgun.
He said the authorities recovered a Daewoo 9-millimeter pistol from the slain suspect, who was in his late-20s.