Rookie cop fights off 3 robbers, kills 1

MANILA, Philippines - A rookie policeman fought off three robbers and killed one of them shortly after they held up a passenger jeepney in front of the Manila City Hall yesterday morning.

Police Officer 1 Rhenel Rue, a member of the Police Regional Office 3, was in a passenger jeepney bound for Pasay Rotunda when the three suspects announced a heist.

Rue told the suspects that he was a police officer, but one of the suspects stabbed him in the chest. Although injured, the policeman did not lose his composure, drew his service firearm and shot the suspect who stabbed him.

Police have yet to identify the slain suspect, who succumbed to a gunshot wound in the left temple. His two cohorts managed to escape.

Rue and the jeepney driver, Leonardo Espinosa, took the body of the suspect to the Manila Police District headquarters along UN Avenue and reported the incident.

One of the passengers, businesswoman Grace Ibay, who was carrying P40,000, praised the police officer for his bravery.