Cop slain in Caloocan

MANILA, Philippines - An off-duty policeman was gunned down on a crowded street in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City Friday night.

Footage taken by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras showed Senior Police Officer 1 Armando Garcia walking along Panday Pira street before 10 p.m. when an unidentified man who had apparently been waiting for him for more than an hour shot him in the head and continued to shoot at him while he was lying on the pavement. 

Detective Joy Morillo, lead investigator, told The STAR that Garcia, who lived several blocks from the crime scene, was shot dead by a professional, “based on the manner of the execution.”

CCTV footage showed that the gunman called out to Garcia as he passed and talked to him for at least 10 seconds before shooting him in the head.

The victim sustained 14 gunshot wounds and died at the scene. After the shooting, the gunman sped away on a motorcycle as residents ran in different directions.

Chief Inspector Ronald Perilla, Northern Police District criminal investigation and detection unit chief, said a team of operatives had been working on several leads but refused to elaborate.

He admitted that Garcia, who had just been transferred to Caloocan from Valenzuela, had caught the ire of some drug pushers in the area.

Morillo said they are checking Garcia’s records because “from the looks of it this is work-related.”