By ALEXANDRIA SAN JUAN
A licensed gun owner shot dead one of three men who had barged into his store and robbed him of P560,000 cash and five mobile phones over the weekend in Quezon City.
The 36-year-old softdrinks dealer was about to close his store at around 7:45 p.m. last Saturday in Barangay Teacher’s Village West when the suspects barged inside and announced the holdup, according to police.
One of the suspects pointed a gun at the owner who was ordered to hand over the day’s collection and place it inside a backpack while two others served as lookouts outside the store.
The mobile phones of the owner and his four workers were also seized by the gun-toting suspect.
After the suspects left the store, the owner pulled out his handgun – an Armscor caliber .45 – from his drawer and went after the fleeing suspects.
After successive shots, Herminigildo Garcia, 36, of Barangay Tandang Sora fell and died on the spot while two of his wounded cohorts managed to escape aboard a motorcycle.
“Iniisip ko lang ‘yung mga pinaghirapan ko para sa pamilya,” said the owner who asked not to be named for fear of possible reprisal.
He reported the incident to Anonas Police Station (PS-9).
The two other suspects were arrested in two separate hospitals about six kilometers from the crime scene.
Police officers Dexter Tomi and Alvin Tarectecan, who were patrolling along Commonwealth Avenue, received a call from Malvar General Hospital about a man being treated with gunshot wounds.
Homicide investigators at the crime scene also received a call from the Quezon City General Hospital about another wounded man.
Police later identified the wounded suspects as Dino Carlo Buenavesta, 38, of Barangay Culiat and Floro Cabalhao, 48, of Barangay Batasan. They were positively identified by the victim.
The bag containing the stolen cash and phones was recovered from the house of Cabalhao after his wife told investigators about it.
Police seized two handguns – a Norinco and Berreta – from the suspects and recovered empty shells from the crime scene.
The victim, a shooting range regular, surrendered his weapon with pertinent documents.