ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Two suspected drug pushers were gunned down by police in what was claimed to be an incident of self-defense here on Monday, Sept. 22.
Police launched a surveillance operation under the Special Anti-Crime Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO) at the Sagrada Familia Village in Barangay Camino Nuevo to arrest drug suspects.
The suspects, Harold Lloyd Campo, 45; and Melvin J. Flores, also 45, both residents of the area, were reportedly engaged in a drinking session when police approached them.
Upon realizing the two were lawmen, Campo allegedly attacked Police Staff Master Sgt. (PSMS) Aljen Julkanain with a bolo and injured the officer's left hand.
Flores also reportedly charged the officers with a weapon.
The two policemen reportedly defended themselves by shooting both men.
Campo sustained a bullet wound in the chest while Flores was hit in the upper portion of the body.
In a radio interview, however, a cousin of Campo, identified as Aira, contradicted the police report stating that Campo was suffering from mental illness.
"Everyone in this area knows about Lloyd's condition, and that he always carries a bolo but does not harm anyone," Aira said in the vernacular.
She also accused policemen of delay in bringing the two men to the hospital.
Following the shooting incident, Scene-of-the-Crime Operatives (SOCO) processed the scene and recovered four empty shells from a suspected 9mm caliber pistol, a deformed slug, three bolos, and a black coin purse containing a heat-sealed plastic sachet with approximately five grams of suspected shabu, valued at around P34,000.
Follow-up investigation is ongoing.