SAF man surrenders

After almost two days in hiding, a Special Action Force (SAF) officer implicated in the Tondo shooting spree, which left one woman vendor dead and two others wounded, surrendered to the Manila Police District (MPD) yesterday.

PO2 Allan Trinidad also surrendered his service firearm, a caliber .9mm Pietro Beretta, which was subjected to a ballistic test.

He said it took him two days to secure his family to protect them from angry neighbors in Tondo.

"Sinuguro ko munang safe ang asawa at limang anak ko. Pinagsisira ng mga kapitbahay ang bahay ko sa pagtangka nilang pasukin," Trinidad said. He denied firing his gun at the victims last Monday night.

It will now be his word against that of PO2 Daniel Villanueva, another SAF officer, who claimed it was Trinidad who fired at the crowd. Villanueva was arrested by responding policemen right after the shooting.

Trinidad also underwent a paraffin test yesterday, the results of which was not yet available as off presstime.

Investigators said the two SAF policemen, who were reportedly drunk at the time, confronted a group of teenagers who were eating at the corner of P. Herrera and Wagas streets in Tondo at around 12:30 a.m. last Monday.

After an exchange of words, the two policemen allegedly pulled out their guns and started to fire at the fleeing youths. The shots hit three female vendors.

Killed was Carmelita Billiones who sustained three gunshot wounds in the body. Analyn Maclangcay, 25, and Amelita Quismundo, 46, are now recuperating from bullet wounds.

According to investigators, Villanueva’s firearm was positive for gunpowder residue, indicating that it had recently been fired. A slug recovered at the scene of the crime is now being evaluated at the PNP Crime Lab to determine from which gun it had been fired.

At least three witnesses in police custody have pointed to Villanueva as the one who fired at the fleeing teenagers.

Charges of homicide and two counts of frustrated homicide were filed against the two policemen.