A police officer was arrested after a shooting aboard a bus killed one passenger and injured two responding officers at the border of Cotabato and Davao del Sur early Saturday.
The suspect was identified as Cpl. Alfred Dawatan Sabas, assigned to Police Station 7 of the General Santos City Police Office.
Sabas was allegedly intoxicated when the shooting happened inside a Mindanao Star bus around 2:30 a.m. in Barangay Batasan, Makilala, North Cotabato, according to a Camp Crame report.
Witnesses said Sabas shot and killed one Reynaldo Bigno Jr. after a heated argument. He then coerced the driver to proceed with the trip despite the commotion. At approximately 4:15 a.m., the bus reached a border checkpoint where two officers, Cpl. Kent Maurith Pamaos and Patrolman Russel Love Tapia of the 11th Regional Mobile Force Battalion, attempted to disarm Sabas.
The suspect opened fire, wounding both officers, and fled. Following a hot pursuit, Sabas was apprehended at 5 a.m. in Barangay Kinuskusan, Magsaysay, Davao del Sur, by officers from the 1104th Mobile Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-11.
