BUGUIAS, Benguet – A member of the Buguias Municipal Police Station was injured when he was hit by a stray bullet that came from the firearm of the arrested suspect while responding to a call for police assistance in a building at Abatan, here, Tuesday dawn.
Chief Inspector Peter Dapliyan, chief of the Buguias Municipal Police Station, identified the injured policeman as PO3 Jake Dati Guinadan, of legal age, member of Buguias MPS while the arrested suspect was named as Jonnie Ian Panganiban Ballo, 27, single, student and a resident of Abatan, Buguias, Benguet.
Initial police investigation showed that a male person went to the Buguias Municipal Police Station to seek police assistance after he was mauled and pointed with a gun by the suspect who was in a bar in the said building.
A team that included the victim immediately responded to the crime scene and knocked on the closed door where the suspect was said to be located.
However, successive shots emanated from inside the room that inflicted injuries on the victim’s left arm.
The police operatives were able to open the locked door and saw the presence of the suspect who voluntarily surrendered is calibre .38 revolver with five fired cartridges and one live ammunition to the operatives.
The victim was brought to the Northern Benguet District Hospital in Buyacaoan for medical treatment and was later discharged and reported back to the police station.
The suspect is now detained at the Buguias Municipal Police Station awaiting the filing of appropriate charges against him before the provincial prosecutor’s office.
By Dexter A. See