Cop kills ex-soldier in shootout after smashup

MANILA, Philippines - A rookie policeman reportedly shot dead a former military man after they figured in a traffic mishap in Malabon City Sunday night.

Police Officer 3 Jerry de la Torre said Francis Nepomuceno, 38, was driving his motorcycle the wrong way on one-way Leono street in Barangay Tanong when he collided with PO1 Benedict Antaran, 25, who was driving his motorcycle in the opposite direction at around 8:55 p.m.

Antaran and Nepomuceno had a heated argument, which led to a shootout. Antaran assigned at the District Police Security Battalion of the Northern Police District (NPD), fled after the shooting, taking his .9mm service firearm with him. He remains at large.

NPD crime scene investigators, led by Chief Inspector Benigno Asilar, recovered .9mm and .45 caliber shells at the crime scene. They also found Nepomuceno’s handgun, which still had 14 bullets, and the motorcycles of the two men.