Monday, July 07, 2008 1 killed, 3 wounded in foiled Lanao bus robbery By Richel Umel
KAUSWAGAN, Lanao del Norte -- A driver was killed while three passengers were wounded when gunmen tried to rob a bus from Cagayan de Oro Sunday dawn in Barangay Kawit Oriental, Kasuwagan town, Lanao del Norte.
Senior Inspector Nestor Ortiz of the Lanao del Norte police said the Rural Transit bus, with body number 1702, was on its way to Zamboanga City from Cagayan de Oro when flagged down by armed men in the village of Kawit Oriental around 2 a.m.
Ortiz said Alex Sabang, the bus driver, tried to ask the gunmen but was instead shot at the back of his neck.
Ortiz said the gunmen proceeded to divest the passengers of their valuables.
When the suspect heard the responding policemen approaching the bus, the gunmen fired an M203 grenade on top of the bus, wounding passengers Persia Catherine de Leon, 30, of Zamboanga City; Alcher Itac of Balili, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte and a certain Leny Lahoy, Ortiz said.
Responding policemen brought the wounded passengers to a nearby hospital.
Ortiz said this was the second incident of attempted robbery on buses plying the Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga routes.
Last May, unidentified gunmen also tried to rob an air-conditioned bus from Cagayan de Oro, but was foiled by the timely arrival of the police.
