Police kill suspect in girl’s slay

MANILA, Philippines - A man arrested for allegedly killing a 12-year-old girl was shot dead after he reportedly tried to grab a gun from his police escorts in Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

Senior Police Officer 1 Cristituto Zaldarriaga said Ruel Jabal, 21, suffered a fatal gunshot wound in the right temple when he tried grabbing a gun from Police Officer 3 Roque Geraldez, who was driving the police car, as they were cruising along Mindanao Avenue at past 3 a.m. yesterday. Jabal was supposed to be taken to the Quezon City General Hospital for medical and physical examination by Geraldez, SPO1 Christian Bajen and PO3 Mario Palic.

Zaldarriaga said Jabal was allegedly known as a drug addict in his neighborhood and identified as the one who stabbed dead Percy delos Santos, a daughter of his neighbor, on Friday night.

He said though Jabal was handcuffed while he was being brought to the hospital, he allegedly managed to grab Geraldez’s service firearm. Palic reacted to the threat and shot Jabal, Zaldarriaga said.

On Friday night, Delos Santos’ father had given her money to buy food after he arrived home. While the girl was at a store, Jabal – armed with a knife – approached the victim, who ran in fear.

Police said witnesses saw Jabal reportedly catch up to the victim, grab her hair, push her face down on the street and stab her six times. When Jabal left, the victim was rushed to the Veterans Memorial but was declared dead on arrival.