Cop shoots man who tried to stab him

CEBU, Philippines - A policeman shot and arrested a suspected thief who tried to stab him in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, past 3 a.m. yesterday.

Had not PO2 Dennis Labra evaded the attack of 18-year-old Jonros Cuizon, he could have been injured…or worse.

Labra, a policeman of the Guadalupe Police Station assigned to the special team on anti-robbery, street gangs, and illegal drugs, was patrolling Veloso St. on board a motorcycle when he saw a man, later identified as the suspect, who just left the construction site of Philconstar Development Corp. carrying a bag and a pipe threader.

This made him suspicious and approached the suspect who resides in sitio Mahayahay, Barangay Calamba.

After he introduced himself as a policeman, the suspect suddenly tried to stab him with a knife.

The policeman evaded the thrust and quickly shot the left thigh of the suspect.

He confiscated from the suspect the items which were later claimed by Randy Amorado, 31, the timekeeper of the building.

Labra then placed Cuizon under arrest and took him to the Cebu City Medical Center on board a Mobile Patrol Group car where he was treated for the gunshot wound he sustained.

Recovered from the suspect was a nine-inch long hunting knife, a knapsack, a pipe threader worth P10,000, two cellular phones worth P12,000, 11 cans of Boysen paint amounting to P1,100, four strainers worth P600, a showerhead worth P600, two bottles of rugby worth P200, and 10 pieces of Teflon tape worth P200.

Amorado, who claimed he owned the cellular phones, alleged that the suspect was able to enter inside the building by destroying one of the windows.

The suspect is now detained at the Guadalupe Police Station pending the filing of appropriate charges against him. — Niña G. Sumacot/BRP (THE FREEMAN)