The suspect, Oliver Padar, 25, allegedly tried to stab Imelda Enriquez, who was with some friends at the Unibeersities restaurant-bar to offer prayers and flowers for her son, Mark James.
Mark James, 19, was shot there at close range by two men, alleged to be Akrho members, last July 19 while he was drinking with friends.
Witnesses said one of the assailants, a certain Junjun, approached Mark James and asked him if he was a member of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity.
Before Mark James could answer, another man, identified as a certain Sherwin Que, arrived and without any word, shot him in the head. He died in the hospital three days later.
Murder charges have been filed against Que and Junjun, who are still at large.
Imelda said they were done with the prayers and that she was talking to a friend when Padar, armed with a knife covered with a handkerchief, stood behind her.
Imelda’s friend John Benitez said he saw Padar try to stab her. But he grabbed Padar’s right arm and they then grappled for the knife.
Inspector Joie Yape, a Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) member investigating Mark James’ killing, happened to be there as a gesture of sympathy for the Enriquez family.
Yape helped restrain Padar and then arrested him. Padar had a companion who ran away upon seeing the struggle.
Padar later denied trying to stab Imelda although he admitted he had a knife purportedly for self-defense since he feared "lawless elements" in the barangay. — Freeman News Service