Cop stabbed, fatally shoots drunk attacker in Cebu City

CEBU CITY – A policeman was stabbed and wounded by a drunk man and retaliated by fatally shooting his attacker at dawn Wednesday, April 8, in Barangay Day-as here. Police Master Sgt. Celso Gonzales Rivera Jr., an operative of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), was wounded in the chest. The fatality was identified as Gilbert Mugas of Mabinay, Negros Oriental. Investigation showed that the policeman received a call that someone was causing trouble in a gasoline station in Barangay Banilad past 1 a.m. The policeman responded to the alarm and saw a drunk man, who turned out to be Mugas, with a group of men at the gas station. Police said Mugas was still rowdy when Rivera arrived. To prevent things from escalating, Rivera urged Mugas to board his vehicle so he could bring him to the South Bus Terminal where he could take a bus home. Mugas heeded and boarded the policeman’s vehicle. A few kilometers from the terminal, a commotion inside the vehicle erupted when Mugas assaulted Rivera, police said. During the commotion, Mugas allegedly drew a knife and stabbed the policeman in the chest. Rivera fought back by shooting Mugas in the abdomen. The two men were taken to separate hospitals. Mugas died at the Cebu City Medical Center. Police Lt. Col. Franco Rodulf Oriol, information officer of the CCPO, said further investigation is underway. Oriol said the policeman did not frisk the drunk man for possible possession of a deadly weapon when he asked him to board the vehicle. Police Col. Abubakar Mangelen Jr., chief of the CPPO, visited the policeman in a hospital on Thursday, April 9.