ILOILO City – A police officer allegedly shot himself on Thursday morning in a hotel on General Luna Street where he, his wife and their two children – a nine-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter – checked in.
Police Staff Sergeant Erwin Daniel, 38, of Barangay Tucud, La Paz district here was a member of the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO). He was pronounced dead at the Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital.
Daniel succumbed to a gunshot wound on the chest.
If this was indeed a case of suicide, what drove him to do it?
The Daniel family stayed at Room 407, according to Police Major Shella Mae Sangrines of Police Station 1. They checked in at around 5:30 a.m. It was the policeman’s day-off.
The policeman was a native of Panit-an, Capiz.
Responding cops recovered from the room a .45 pistol.
The wife and the two children have yet to issue statements to the police; they’re still in shock.
“We could not yet conclude what really happened. Was it really suicide? Or a case of accidental firing? We are conducting an investigation,” Sangrines said.
Daniel’s assignment prior to Iloilo was the National Capital Region (NCR).
Police Lieutenant Colonel Ricardo Jomuad Jr., the victim’s company commander, was shocked.
“In terms to his work, wala ako may masiling. Always present sya. Wala man sya may ginsambit sa akon nga problema nya. Estorya nya sakon nga nurse asawa nya kag naga-work outside the country tapos ginpapuli nya para mag-atipan sang ila bata. He was a family man, but we don’t know what really happened,” Jomuad said.
Daniel was the second police officer to allegedly commit suicide or who died due to accidental firing.
On Christmas eve at around 9 p.m. in his house in Barangay Alalasan, Lapuz district, Police Staff Sergeant Jerry Bayabay, 43, died. His gun accidentally went off, hitting his head.
The victim was assigned to the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).
According to his wife Ruth, they were talking about going to the beach while he was cleaning his short firearm./PN
