Policeman killed by 3 bus holdup men

A police officer was killed while fighting off three armed men who robbed a northbound airconditioned passenger bus early yesterday morning in Valenzuela City.

PO2 Noel Labrador, detailed at the Drug Enforcement Group of the Northern Police District Office (DEG-NPDO), succumbed to a stab wound in the body and a gunshot wound in the head. He was declared dead on arrival by attending physicians at the Holy Family Clinic in Balagtas, Bulacan.

According to Valenzuela police chief Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Ureña, the suspects announced the holdup at around 2:30 a.m. as the Bulacan-bound JMK bus liner (TWD-238) driven by Romeo Vetto was cruising along Mcarthur Highway in Malinta.

The suspects posing as passengers boarded the bus in Monumento and announced the holdup upon reaching Malinta. "They took the opportunity when they saw there were only seven remaining passengers, including the off-duty Labrador, who was in civilian attire," Vetto told investigators.

Investigation showed Labrador pulled out his service firearm and introduced himself as a police officer to the suspects. Instead of heeding his warning, the three ganged up on him. One suspect, brandishing a knife, stabbed him in the body. As he sprawled on the floor, another suspect made sure he was dead by firing a bullet into his head using the officer’s own gun.

Urena said the suspects escaped and boarded a passenger jeepney but not before divesting the passengers of their cash, cellphones and other valuables. They also ran away with the cop’s 9 mm pistol. – Jerry Botial and Pete Laude