Motorcycle-riding ‘criminal’ slain by cops in Laguna

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Laguna, Philippines—A man suspected by the police to be a lawless element was killed when he and a companion engaged them in a gunfight in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, past midnight on Monday.

Laguna police director Senior Superintendent Pascual Muñoz said a concerned citizen reported to the Sta. Cruz police station that two men on two motorcycles were suspiciously “roaming” around Barangay Oogong late at night.

When policemen came to check, the men immediately fled, prompting a chase to Barangay San Jose, where, Muñoz said, one of the men fired shots at the police, prompting the lawmen to fire back.

One of the men was killed in the brief exchange, which occurred around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday, but the other was able to escape.

Superintendent Meliton Salvadora, Sta. Cruz police chief, in a telephone interview later identified the slain man  as Joel Anatolan, who according to police records had been arrested earlier for alleged robbery.

“The other one, we still have to find out. Unlike (Anatolan), the other suspect wore a bonnet that covered his whole face during the chase,” Salvadora added.

He said the police recovered a .38-caliber revolver from Anatolan.