Convenience store executive shot, robbed

MANILA, Philippines – An executive of a convenience store was shot dead when he resisted an armed man who tried to rob him after he withdrew money from an automated teller machine (ATM) in Sampaloc, Manila at past midnight Thursday.

Jacel Reyes, 31, assistant manager of Mini-Stop Shop, was identified by his wife Joann, 22, at a funeral parlor.

Joann ended up at the Sampaloc police station looking for her husband, who failed to return home since Thursday. Police initially failed to identify the victim in the absence of any documents in his possession.

Police Officer 3 Joseph Kabigting said Reyes had withdrawn an undetermined amount of money from an ATM at the corner of M. dela Fuente and J. Fajardo streets in Sampaloc at around 1 a.m.

When he was about to leave, Reyes was met by an armed robber. Kabigting said Reyes may have put up a fight, prompting the robber to shoot him in the face. The robber may have taken Reyes’ wallet, the reason why no identifying documents were recovered from the victim, according to Kabigting.

A barangay tanod who heard the shot rushed Reyes to Ospital ng Sampaloc, where the victim died while undergoing treatment.

In the absence of a witness, homicide section head Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo is requesting footage taken by the bank’s closed-circuit television camera to identify Reyes’ attacker.

According to Joann, her husband is scheduled to leave for Canada where they plan to permanently settle. – Nestor Etolle