3 teen robbers stab cabbie

BAGUIO CITY — Three teenagers, aged 15 to 17, almost killed a taxi driver here, stabbing him several times, when he resisted their attempt to rob him early Sunday morning.

Their victim, Simeon Gutierrez, 29, is in critical condition at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center. He was stabbed five times in the shoulder, back and right chest.

The three boys were arrested, and police are readying charges of attempted robbery and frustrated homicide against them.

Senior Inspector David Mariano, chief of police Station 3, said the teenagers boarded Gutierrez’s taxi at the junction of Itogon Road and Outlook Drive and asked to be brought to Barangay South Drive.

But as they cruised a dimly lit portion of South Drive, near the site of the demolished Hyatt Terraces Hotel, the boys announced the holdup. One of the boys pulled out a fan knife and stabbed him while his accomplices held the taxi driver’s arms.

Though wounded, Gutierrez fought back, forcing the boys to jump out of the taxi and ran toward the direction of the Baguio Country Club. He then managed to bring himself to the emergency room of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center.

A hospital staffer informed the police about the failed holdup, and a mobile patrol team immediately responded and caught the three boys, their clothes having bloodstains.