Police identify, prepare case vs PBA cager’s shooter

After weeks of being without a solid lead, the Mandaluyong City Police Thursday said that they had identified the man who shot and wounded Talk ‘N Text (TNT) cager Ali Peek.

However, Senior Supt. Armando Bolalin, city police chief, refused to divulge the gunman’s name for fear of jeopardizing ongoing follow-up operations.

“Once the documentation against the suspect is completed, we will file the charges so that a warrant of arrest can be issued,” he told the Inquirer over the phone.

Bolalin said that he was hopeful that the charges would be filed by next week.

He added that the gunman was positively identified by a witness to the shooting.

Peek, a Filipino-American who plays for TNT in the Philippine Basketball Association, was about to get into his car at around 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 7 when a man shot him in the nape.

The shooting occurred at the parking lot of RFM Gym on the corner of Sheridan and Pioneer Streets.

According to Bolalin, the witness who surfaced only this week claimed that he was at the parking lot when Peek was shot.

“He came forward only recently and gave us that information,” he added.

Earlier, investigators said that no one saw the actual shooting although some people in the area told the police that they spotted a man wearing a light green T-shirt over a pair of khaki shorts running away from Peek’s car.

According to the police official, the suspect’s identity was also confirmed by other witnesses.

“We already have (a positive identification),” Bolalin said.

The police, meanwhile, said that they were looking at revenge or rivalry for a woman’s affection as possible motives  for the attack on Peek.

News reports quoted Supt. Danilo Macerin, acting head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the National Capital Region, as saying that robbery had been dismissed as the motive because according to Peek, nothing valuable was taken from him.

Peek told the police that he initially thought that his attacker was just a fan. He said he was surprised when the man grabbed his bag but he managed to snatch it back.

He added that seconds later, the man shot him in the nape.