Leyte’s town cop found shot dead

ROLEX ALVERO ELMIDO

TACLOBAN CITY — A policeman from the police station of San Isidro town in Leyte was found dead, in a vacant lot beside the building of the Department of Budget and Management-8 in Tacloban City, with one gunshot wound near his ear.

Senior Superintendent Rolando Bade, director of the Tacloban City Police Office, identified the victim as Senior Police Officer 4 Dennis Diaz, 47, and a brother of barangay councilwoman Leizel Meneses of Barangay Fatima, this city.

Initial reports revealed that at around 4 a.m. yesterday, residents nearby heard a single fire of gunshot at the area where Diaz’s body was found.

Bade said investigators are still trying to find leads to the crime and determine the possible motive in the killing. He added that he is hoping for the immediate resolution of the case, considering that, across the crime scene, there is a CCTV camera in a private residence.

He added that the police is now coordinating with the house owner to get some possible footage that would lead to the identification of the killer.

Meanwhile in San Julian town of Eastern Samar, Police Officer 2 Frederick Samantila, intelligence officer of the municipal police was shot and wounded Saturday morning, while responding to a call for police assistance.

The suspect, who is still at large until yesterday, hit Samantila in the abdomen. The policeman is now treated at a hospital in Tacloban City.

The homemade shotgun, used by the suspect, was recovered by police authorities shortly after the shooting incident at Barangay Putik in San Julian.