Valenzuela cop hurt in ambush

An operative of the Valenzuela City police anti-car theft unit was critically wounded after he was ambushed by four unidentified men while riding his motorcycle along Gen. T. de Leon in the city Monday afternoon.

Superintendent Jose Marcelo, Valenzuela City police chief, identified the intended target as PO2 Felix Tan, an Ancar police officer.

Tan sustained a gunshot wound in the stomach that exited his back. He is now confined at the Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.

At around 3 p.m., Tan was on his motorcycle at Gen. T. De Leon Road corner B. Demitillo street when four men, who were strategically positioned in the area, fired at the officer as he slowed down on an unpaved road.

In the first volley of gunfire, Tan was hit in the body, but was able to duck and find cover on the road side. He fired back at the suspects.

During the exchange of gunfire, witnesses said, one of the suspects was also wounded.

Using his cell phone, the injured cop asked for assistance from the nearby police sub-station and the Ancar unit in the area.

When Ancar operatives, led by Inspector Florentino Aguado, arrived, the suspects were all gone. But police found blood at the crime scene and at least four empty shells and three slugs of a caliber .45 pistol.

Witnesses told the police that before the incident, the suspects even bought snacks at a nearby sari-sari store while they were waiting.

They said two of the suspects escaped on foot while two others fled on a motorcycle.

Police are now coordinating with several hospitals in the city and nearby localities to capture the wounded suspect who might have sought medical attention. – Pete Laude