In a report, Capas police chief Supt. Bayani Razalan said the still unidentified man initially held on to a passing XLT van driven by one Francis Esguerra who was cruising the MacArthur Highway in Barangay Estrada in Capas, Tarlac at about 3:30 a.m.
Alarmed by the man’s shouting, Esguerra drove on to Barangay Maligaya, Tarlac City where he stopped at 7-11 convenience store to ask for help from other people.
Razalan said the man then drove off with the van, as Esguerra left its motor running.
Two hours later, the man was seen blocking vehicles and hitting them with a tire wrench along the MacArthur Highway in Barangay Bacag in Villasis. The van he stole was also found without gas at the site.
The report said that Villasis policeman SPO1 Herminigildo Ramos, who was on his way to work, tried to pacify the suspect who instead tried to commandeer a tricycle whose driver’s head he had hit with his wrench.
The report said the man failed to start the engine of the tricycle, and thus jumped on board a passing 5-Star bus bound for Manila. The bus had 30 passengers.
Sensing danger to the passengers, Ramos then fired at the crazed man whose pockets were later found with shabu and drug paraphernalia.
His identity remained unknown as of yesterday.
