Bystander dies from stray bullet

A 42-year-old widower took a bullet in the chest and died in a crossfire between four suspected car thieves and the police Saturday night in Navotas.

An initial investigation showed that Nida Vasay while she was waiting for a ride home at around 6 p.m. when a running gunbattle ensued between the gunmen and three police officers.

PO1s Alexis de Jesus, Aurelio Galvez and Anthony Santillan were on beat patrol when they heard on police radio that a tricycle had been stolen nearby.

They spotted the tricycle cruising on C-3 Road in North Bay Boulevard South and were shot at by the suspects when they tried to stop it.

Vasay, a resident of North Bay Boulevard South, who was outside the Vifel Cold Storage Plant factory waiting for a ride home, was hit by a stray bullet in the ensuing gunbattle. She was taken to Tondo General Hospital but died later during treatment.

Two of the suspects — Edgardo Tagalog, 23, and Reden Andrade, 27 — were were caught and arrested when they jumped off the tricycle and tried to escape on foot. Two of their cohorts eluded arrest and remained at large.

Police investigators are now trying to find out whose bullet killed Vasay. — With Pete Laude