'Cop-killer' shot dead while in MPD custody

MANILA, Philippines - A man accused of killing a policeman was shot dead when he accompanied Manila Police District (MPD) police officers to find his accomplice in Quiapo Thursday.

Antonio Lalu, a suspect in the death of Police Officer 2 Ryan Bagadiong last Oct. 6, was killed, allegedly by an unidentified man, when he led police to a shanty along Nepomuceno street where Joel Laya lived, according to MPD homicide section chief Senior Inspector Joselito de Ocampo said.

Lalu, who surrendered Bagadiong’s service firearm, said he sold a .45 caliber pistol that was used to kill Bagadiong to Laya, a reported drug pusher. De Ocampo said the police officers were not able to see clearly who shot Lalu, who was hit in the mouth.

Lalu said the gun’s previous owner, Florencio Geavican, was the one who shot Bagadiong. De Ocampo said Lalu’s killer escaped by jumping on the roofs of shanties and they could not shoot him for fear of hitting other people in the crowded shantytown.