| By LEO L. SOLINAP |

Two people were wounded in two separate shooting incidents in Iloilo City proper when a wanted man open fired thinking he was being arrested by a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent.

The first shooting incident happened yesterday afternoon along  J.M. Basa streets when Samuel Manajero, 35, of Brgy. Indorojan in Badiangan reportedly shot Nestor Casterio, a coach of San Yat Sen High School in front of Zambo Bazar along J.M. Basa Street. Manajero thought he was an NBI agent.

Prior to that, the two were walking towards each other. The suspect then calmly walked along Iznart St. towards the National Statistics office (NSO) when two members of the Motorized Anti-Street Crime Operatives (Masco) team 3 of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) spotted him.

Police Officer 1 Michael Malan said while he and his partner PO1 Lee Demandante were on patrol, they received a radio message about the shooting incident along J.M. Basa Street. Malan said the radio operator described the suspect’s identity and clothes.

“With the description, we were able to identify the suspect when he was walking near the NSO,” Malan said.

He also said when they were about to approach the suspect, the latter attempted to take a jeepney.

As the two policemen chased Manajero, the suspect open fired at them, hitting a passenger named Kimberly Clair Umadhay, a 3rd year HRM student of Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus .

Malan said he was not able to fire back since there were many people around. Both policemen were not hit during the shooting. The suspect then ran towards the St. Joseph Lumber Company along Solis St. and took the people inside hostage.

The hostage taking lasted less than an hour after negotiations with the police and tactical moves made by members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Public Safety Company of the ICPO.

Police are still investigating the real name of Manajero after they found a driver’s license of the suspect bearing a different name – Wilson Gonzales Flores with residence address as Bicutan, Paranaque. Recovered in Manajero's possession were a cellphone,  a .45 cal pistol and its five live ammunition and a wallet containing the said driver’s license.

The suspect was brought to the Iloilo City Police Office after his arrest while the victims were brought to Iloilo Saint Paul’s Hospital.*