GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- A police officer here was tagged as a "person of interest" in a deadly brawl outside a popular night club here last Tuesday that left two persons dead.
Maj. Benhur Catcatan, chief of the Lagao police station, said Thursday S/Sgt. Clifford Randel Bayangdan, intelligence officer of the San Isidro police station, is now being investigated in connection with the incident.
Citing accounts from witnesses, he said Bayangdan was seen in the vicinity of Xplore Bar along Ariola St. in Barangay Lagao before the deadly fracas broke out around 2 a.m.
The incident resulted in the killing of customers John Vincent Lopez and Jay Napalit. Lopez was stabbed dead while Napalit was gunned down while reportedly attempting to flee from the scene.
Catcatan said they recovered from the scene several spent shells from a 9mm handgun, the same type of firearm carried by the police officer.
"He has been relieved and placed on restricted status," he said, citing a directive from Col. Aden Lagradante, the city police director.
The police official said Bayangdan voluntarily surrendered his issued firearm, which will be subjected to paraffin tests.
Meanwhile, Catcatan said they also arrested on Wednesday the primary suspect in the stabbing of Lopez.
He said John Patrick Polo, 23, was named in a tip-off by a concerned citizen after supposedly "boasting" of his involvement in the incident in a social media chat.
"There is a number of names that emerged as possible suspects and we're looking into these," he said.
The city government, on orders from Mayor Ronnel Rivera, padlocked the Xplore Bar on Tuesday as a result of the incident.
Several violent incidents involving its customers had been recorded in the past. The establishment also figured in a controversy for allegedly showing lewd shows. (PNA)
