Escalante cops kill suspect in shooting rampage
BACOLOD CITY -- A valuable tip from a concerned citizen led to the neutralization of a member of Escalante City's Police Auxiliary Unit who was responsible for the fatal shooting of three civilians and the wounding of two others including his fellow PAU member last Sunday morning.
In a report to Police Senior Superintendent Manuel Felix, NOPPO provincial director, Police Chief Inspector Santiago Rapiz, the chief of Escalante City Police Station, identified the slain PAU personnel as Diolito Cabanyog of Barangay Pinapugasan. The local police solved the tragic shooting in less than 24 hours.
Chief Insp. Rapiz said that Cabanyog, who was under the influence of liquor when he shot the victims in Barangay Alimango near a police outpost, was cornered in nearby Sitio San Ramon inside a sugarcane field where he sought refuge after the shooting spree.
Around 15 to 20 personnel of Escalante City Police Station led by Rapiz, including other force multipliers, encircled the suspect and advised him to surrender peacefully to no avail.
Police Chief Inspector Rico Santotome Jr, NOPPO spokesperson, added that when the suspect tried to escape, he saw Rapiz and company positioned outside the said sugarcane field and immediately fired the M16 armalite rifle he used in the shooting the other day towards his pursuers.
Luckily, no one from among Rapiz' men got hit and the local police immediately returned fire hitting the suspect in the different parts of his body. He was rushed to the Vicente Gustilo Memorial Hospital in the city where he was pronounced dead-on-arrival.
Recovered from the slain suspect was one M16 armalite rifle with two units magazine assembly of said firearm while numerous empty shells were also found in the crime scene by police investigators.
With the accomplishment of the local police, the NOPPO provincial director commended the Escalante City Police Station for the early solution of the shooting incident that led to the neutralization of the suspect Cabanyog. (NOPPO PIO)