Trader plays hero, killed in robbery

A cell phone shop owner was shot dead after coming to the aid of a female customer being robbed in front of his store by two unidentified suspects Wednesday afternoon in Caloocan City.

Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, city police chief, identified the victim as Ismael Espiritu, 31, cell phone technician and reportedly a security guard before deciding to embark on a new career as a businessman, of Bagong Silang. Espiritu succumbed to a gunshot wound in the chest with the bullet from a still unknown caliber piercing his heart resulting in his instantaneous death.

Police are yet to determine the identity of the suspects.

Investigation showed the incident happened at around 1:30 p.m. in front of the Espiritu Cellphone and Accessories shop owned and managed by the victim.

A client of the victim, Jacqueline Ng, 20, married, had just stepped out of his shop when the two suspects each armed with a knife and a handgun blocked Ng’s way and announced a holdup.

Espiritu, however, noticed the commotion and rushed out to help the woman. He did not go far as one of the suspects drew an accurate bead at close range hitting him fatally in the chest. The suspects fled with the woman’s valuables including her cell phone as Espiritu fell on the pavement. – Jerry Botial, Pete Laude