Manila police precinct in Quiapo strafed

MANILA, Philippines - Less than 24 hours after being caught flatfooted with the brazen ambush of an Elections official in Intramuros, Manila police came under attack before dawn Tuesday when unidentified men strafed a police precinct in Manila's Quiapo district. The strafing occurred around 3 a.m. and targeted Manila Police District's (MPD) Station 8 police community precinct along Carlos Palanca Street. In a radio interview, Sr. Insp. Alexander de Jesus, MPD Station 8 precinct commander, said they are looking at past run-ins with suspects involved in drugs and in illegal possession of firearms as the motive of the attack. De Jesus noted that his men arrested a suspect with a case of illegal possession of firearms two weeks back. He said the suspect, whom he did not name, had posted bail. "Inaalam pa namin ang tunay na pagkakalusob sa aming PCP. Sa ngayon ipaayos namin itong PCP namin at kung sakali maglagay ng kaunting depensa para di agad-agad mapasok ng gusto manalakay (We're still investigating what happened. For now, we have to fix the precinct and shore up our defenses so we don't get caught by surprise again)," de Jesus said in an interview on dwIZ radio. De Jesus admitted that only two of the five policemen on duty were in the precinct when the shooting happened. "Actually lima kami, isa sa checkpoint, isa naka-leave, isa maysakit (There are five of us in the precinct but at the time of the attack, one was manning a checkpoint, one was on leave, and one called in sick)," de Jesus said. Radio dzBB reported that PO1 Ismael Nur and one PO2 Fortes were inside the PCP when the attack occurred. The two were found lying on the ground when reinforcements from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and mobile patrol groups arrived. The dzBB report quoted the two as saying the sound of gunfire indicated the weapons may not have been automatic. The assault left the precinct's door and windows damaged. - GMANews.TV