By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Hinigaran municipal police chief was wounded yesterday after he was shot by a man said to have “run amok” at Hacienda Malukaw in the town’s Barangay Palayog.

Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil, Jr., identified the local police official as Police Chief Inspector Jake Barila.

Based on initial reports from the Hinigaran Municipal Police Station, around 9:15 a.m., the station received a call from local residents reporting the suspect, Davi Ysasi, was acting violently outside their homes and allegedly shot a dog.

The suspect also allegedly aimed his .45 caliber pistol at local residents, along with reportedly threatening his mother, Victoria.

Barila, along with the station’s special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team responded and tried to calm down Ysasi, who reportedly ran to a nearby sugarcane field.

Barila and the SWAT team pursued the suspect, where the police chief tried to persuade the suspect to surrender peacefully.

The suspect reportedly announced he was angry due to debt problems.

Ysasi then pointed his firearm at Barila and shot the police chief in the foot. Police returned fire and struck Ysasi in the chest.

Both Barila and Ysasi were rushed to hospitals in Bacolod City, wherein Ysasi is reported to be in critical condition as of press time.

Castil added, the suspect’s mother submitted a letter explaining her son “ran amok” after she refused to give him money.