Guard killed by robbers

A security guard was shot dead by still unidentified men who robbed a gas station in Quezon City early yesterday morning.

Victim Eduardo Gutierrez, 30, security guard of Airborne Security Agency, assigned at the Commonwealth Caltex gas station and resident of Pinagkaisahan, Lower Litex, Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City, died from a gunshot wound in his head.

A blood-stained rock was also found beside the victim’s cadaver which could have been used by the robbers in bashing his head before or after he was shot.

Senior Police Officer I Rodrigo Barrameda, officer-on-case, said the gas station was normally open 24-hours daily but the owner closed it on Christmas Eve at around 11 p.m. to allow its personnel to celebrate with their families.

The victim was the only security guard on duty. Investigation showed that the suspects forcibly opened the office door and the cash vault and carted away the day’s earnings.

The comfort rooms were also forcibly opened by the suspects, which they could have mistaken as offices. Police theorized that the security guard, who was wearing a white sando and his uniform pants, fought the suspects, prompting them to bash his head and shoot him.

A security guard of a nearby business establishment saw a group of men approach the gas station at around 5:20 a.m. despite signs at the entrance and exit points saying it was closed.

A gas station employee, Bong Guerrero, who arrived at 6:05 a.m. to report for 7 a.m. duty, was surprised to see the security guard’s lifeless body lying on the pavement in front of the office. Barrameda said the victim’s service firearm was missing. – Pia Lee-Brago