The Manila Police District (MPD) denied reports of an alleged “serial killer” in Tondo following a string of fatal shooting incidents, calling the reports “fake news.”
“The allegation that there was a serial killer in Tondo is fake news,” MPD spokesperson Police Major Phillip Ines told GMA News Online.
According to Ines, the recent shooting was allegedly related to the illegal drug trade.
MPD chief Police Brigadier General Andre Dizon told GMA News Online that they monitored at least two shooting incidents in Tondo on April 9 and 10 which resulted in the deaths of two victims.
Dizon said these separate incidents involved the same shooter.
“The shootings were successive. Both were related to illegal drugs. Two victims but there was only one shooter,” he said.
On April 9, the MPD said 20-year-old Ruel Yabao was found lifeless with two gunshot wounds on Nepa Street in Barangay 142 in Tondo.
On April 10, a pedicab driver identified as Noel Mirano was waiting for passengers on the same street when the suspect shot him.
Authorities are now conducting a follow-up operation on the shooting incidents.