Condo stabbing: 6 dead, 4 hurt
At least six persons were killed when a man went berserk after a fight with his girlfriend at the Central Park condominium in Pasay City Tuesday night.
Alberto Garan, 39, was seen on closed-circuit television footage stabbing his girlfriend, Emelyn Sagun, 30.
Garan and Sagun were reportedly arguing in a unit on the 14th floor of the 25-story building. At the height of the argument, Garan pulled out a .38 caliber revolver but the gun misfired, prompting the suspect to get a knife and stab his girlfriend, police said.
Sagun was able to get out of the unit, but her boyfriend continued to attack her. He later threw her body from the 14th floor down the stairwell. She was later found in the basement.
He went berserk at past 6 p.m., stabbing people he encountered from the 14th floor to the 16th floor until Special Weapons and Tactics police officers shot him in a vacant unit on the 22nd floor following a five-hour chase. He allegedly tried to attack the lawmen with a knife.
Senior Superintendent Dionisio Bartolome, Pasay police chief, named the other fatalities as Joel Palacios, 70, a former journalist and retired vice president of the Social Security System; Daisery Castillo, 12; Ligaya Dimapilis, 36; and Letecia Ecsiagan, 60.
Palacios’ partner, Belcris Elorde, 24; April Joy Sagarino, 20; Arlyn Dian Cordero, 20; and Margie Morales, 26, were wounded in the attack.
Palacios was going back to his unit on the 16th floor from an afternoon jog when Garan attacked him as he reached the hallway, police said.
According to reports, Elorde tried to help Palacios but Garan turned on her.
Garan and Sagun, police said, were married to different people. They left their hometown of Baggao, Cagayan to train as physical therapists. They only arrived in Metro Manila last Sunday and were staying with a relative.
Investigators have yet to determine what triggered the argument, but sources said Garan reportedly became jealous when he saw Sagun talking to another man.
Cop sacked
Meanwhile, Bartolome ordered the relief of Senior Inspector Edgar Maunahan, commander of Police Community Precinct 5, pending the results of an investigation into the incident.
Bartolome said he wants to know why it took police officers five hours to “neutralize” the suspect. The precinct is several meters away from the condominium.
The Pasay police will also investigate lapses by the condominium’s management that resulted in Garan being able to carry a handgun into the building without being noticed by security guards.
National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Oscar Albayalde said they found out that no security guard was assigned to monitor the closedcircuit television cameras during the incident.
“They only learned of the incident when there was a commotion,” he said.
Albayalde said the guards then sought the help of police officers from the precinct. If the guards knew their jobs, they would have subdued Garan, he added.
“There was only one person and he was only armed with a knife,” Albayalde said.