QC neigborhood row pits cop vs ex-cop

A policeman and a dismissed officer ended up in the hospital after they got into a fight following a misunderstanding in Quezon City at 2 a.m. on Thursday.

PO2 Christopher de Guzman, 36, was being treated for a stab wound in the armpit while Isaias Merced, 46, who was dismissed from the service with the rank of police officer 3, was confined for a gunshot wound in the thigh.

Investigators said Merced attacked De Guzman with a knife, prompting the latter to draw his gun and shoot him.

Case investigator PO2 Louie Serbito said the two were taken to separate hospitals after the incident which happened in De Guzman’s neighborhood on Maayusin Extension, Barangay San Vicente, Quezon City.

Merced, a resident of Taguig City, was in the area with his family to attend a relative’s birthday party while De Guzman was drinking with some friends at a retail store.

When Merced’s son and his friends went to the store to buy some cigarettes, De Guzman, who was wary of strangers in the area due to recent incidents of thefts and robberies, asked them where they were from.

The younger Merced, however, was offended and left the store although he came back with his father who confronted De Guzman.

Another policeman who knew both men, PO2 Eduardo Roy, tried to break up the argument, but Merced took out a knife and lunged at De Guzman, stabbing him in the armpit.

The wounded policeman retaliated by shooting his attacker, hitting him in the left thigh. Both men were then rushed to the hospital by their relatives.

Serbito said Merced would be charged with frustrated homicide for stabbing De Guzman while they would leave it to Merced to determine if he wanted to file a case against the policeman.