Cop hurt while subduing robber

A policeman subdued and shot the foot of a suspected robber who attacked and wounded him after a brief chase along M.J. Cuenco Avenue at barangay Tejero Wednesday afternoon.

SPO1 Rene Cerna was with three other policemen on patrol in the area when they noticed a commotion inside a Mandaue-bound jeepney.

Shortly after, they saw a man hurriedly alighting from the jeepney, with a cellphone in hand, and running towards the interior part of Villagonzalo 2.

Cerna and his men, PO3 Romualdo Añana, PO2 Witzel Berry and PO1 Ramil Tanggol, rushed to the scene and were told that the running man had just robbed a female passenger of the jeepney and stole her cellphone.

This prompted the policemen to chase the suspect who was later known as 18-year-old Rojade Rivera Into.

Into turned to face the policemen and attacked Cerna with a fan knife. Cerna tried to parry the attack but got wounded in his left forearm instead.

Cerna had to stop Into so he, with his .357 revolver, shot the suspect in the left foot. After subduing the Into, the policemen seized the suspect’s knife and retrieved the cellphone of the robbery victim. They also found a pack of suspected shabu from Into’s possession.

The wounded policeman and the robbery suspect were both taken to the Cebu City Medical Center.— Edwin Ian Melecio/RAE