Slain Filipino Man Snaps Photo of Murderer Seconds Before Being Killed
- Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:26am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police investigating the New Year’s Eve shooting death of a local councilman did not have to look further than the last photograph the victim took. That photo led to the arrest of two suspects.
The picture, taken outside the councilman’s house in metropolitan Manila, clearly shows a man aiming his gun from behind the victim’s smiling three-member family, seconds before he was shot.
The relatives – Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa’s wife, daughter and mother-in-law – are seen standing beside the family’s car, which has lights on, and the gunman, wearing a baseball cap, is bracing himself against the vehicle and pointing his gun at Dagsa. His face is slightly obscured by the gun.
The car was parked along an alley outside the Dagsas’ house. In another corner of the photograph is a man police identified as the assassin’s lookout.
Police said Tuesday that Dagsa was shot seconds after the photo was taken and died of his wounds by the time he reached a hospital. His family gave police the photo, which ran on the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s front page Tuesday.
Caloocan city police chief Jude Santos said a man identified as the gunman in the picture was arrested Monday. His accomplice also was arrested in a separate raid in Manila the same day, Santos said.
He said the main suspect was a car thief who was out on bail and likely sought revenge against Dagsa for ordering his arrest last year.
Dagsa’s wife and daughter, speaking to reporters at their home Tuesday, said the victim had asked them to wake him up before the stroke of midnight so he could join in the usually noisy New Year’s street revelry that comes with lots of firecrackers.
The family members said they did not hear a gunshot because the firecrackers were exploding all around them. They only saw Dagsa falling to the ground after he was hit.
They said they rushed him to the hospital but it was too late.
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Comments (66)
SSI01
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 7:33amPulitzer Prize Photo material here. Proceeds should go to help support the family.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 12:39amOh God, I feel so sorry for the family. Thank God the guy didn’t kill them too. Please bless them Lord.
Report Post »Follower
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:36pm“A dumbfounding study roughly a decade ago that many now find hard to believe revealed that if people are asked to focus on a video of other people passing basketballs, about half of watchers missed a person in a gorilla suit walking in and out of the scene thumping its chest.
Now research delving further into this effect shows that people who know that such a surprising event is likely to occur are no better at noticing other unforeseen events — and may even be worse at noticing them — than others who aren’t expecting the unexpected. The so-called “invisible gorilla” test had volunteers watching a video where two groups of people — some dressed in white, some in black — are passing basketballs around. The volunteers were asked to count the passes among players dressed in white while ignoring the passes of those in black. “
Report Post »frankee47
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:40pmGod bless you sir.
Report Post »Tyler520
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:53pmI would wager that the assassin used the situation as a distraction.
Report Post »CaptainSpaulding
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 5:23pmCreepy
Report Post »BrentW
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 4:50pmIt’s amazing how many people make comments on here before they have completely read the article. What a waste of HTML !
Report Post »Krutch
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:12pmAdd your comments
Report Post »tjdavid21444
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:06pmThere are 4 people in the picture (1 of whom is a child), who are not the gunman. How did they not see a man, standing right next to them long enough to brace himself against the car, and firing a gun? Something about this story does not make sense.
Report Post »Hoosier Daddy
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:23pmThe gunman is behind the family, it was noisy outside and they weren’t expecting to be attacked. The victim was looking at his family and may never have seen the killer through the viewfinder. Remember this photo is a brief instant frozen in time. We have the benefit of having time to look it over carefully.
Report Post »Zai
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 4:09pmI take it you have not been in the Philippines during New Year’s Eve. It is loud, smoky, dark and with people all over the place. 4th of July fireworks in the U.S. is probably 1% of volume vs. New Year’s Eve in the Philippines.
Report Post »Slowman101
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:44pmThe picture is good evidence. Fry the bastard.
Report Post »Sledgehammer
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:39pmThis guy is toast, the prisons in the fillipines aren’t like here, (yeah we spell it ph, they don’t) this guy might last 5 years, he’ll die of a tooth infection!
Report Post »Camo Pants
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:07pmpremeditated murder = murder1? 25-life? Correct me if i’m wrong.
Report Post »SeanW
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:16pmWell, I think they have different laws Philippines, this is where the kid was caned in the mid-90′s and everyone had a conniption fit over it lol. I think the assassination of a government official carries far more than a simple 25+ sentence. I would expect a public execution.
About the photo tho. My Lord! What a powerful shot, probably the single most chilling picture I have ever seen in my life. And TeaPartyMaster, when you point a finger you have 3 more pointing right back at you, the man was most likely focusing on making sure his loved ones were properly framed and in focus. I am sure that you are a living breathing individual, and if this is the case then you have had stuff happen right in front of you and your brain just didn’t register it. It’s called being human.
Report Post »tjdavid21444
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:18pmDude, you’re talking U.S. law. This happened in the Philippines.
Report Post »Zai
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 4:05pm@SEANW – The caning I believe took place in Singapore not the Philippines. In the Philippines, the police will let the owners of the vandalized property have their way with that kid, before booking him.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:22pmSeanW
Report Post »They do have some different laws in the Philippines, and a very nice prison system, no cable TV, no AC, no swimming pools, depending on what political connections these guy’s have they may be released in a day or so, if they have money they lock them until people forget, then they bring it back to trial and decide they didn’t do it, was a famous case like that a few weeks ago.
They don’t “cane” people in the Philippines, you are thinking about Singapore.
Brooke Lorren
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 10:06pm“when you point a finger you have 3 more pointing right back at you”
That’s why my preacher says that in pastor school, they taught him to point with all five fingers pointed outward ;-)
Report Post »teaparty teamster
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:06pmIf you cannot see the gun and the trigger guard, you are either stupid or a liberal to blind to see what is right in front of you!!!!!!
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:20pmWhy the heck are you being so nasty? I dont see anything but the circle of reflected light from the camera flash and the way he is holding his hands to suggest he has a gun. That isn’t a reason for you to come unglued and start the name calling. By the way, I am a tea party conservative and a gun owner so please don’t attack me just because you apparently have better eyesight than me.
Report Post »brotherhiram
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 9:13amWhat would the purpose for a stranger to point an object that isn’t a gun at someone who then happens to get hit with an alledged bullet coming from the same direction as the person holding what a tootsie roll?
This isn’t a matter of opinion, there is an image showing it.
Now the fact that this guy, had an axe to grind against the victim sounds to me like motive.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 1:32pmThis likely goes deeper than “ordering an arrest” – It sounds like a ‘hit’ using a willing assassin…
Report Post »Rev. Bear
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:28pmNotice the sleeveless useless piece of crap standing behind the family, watching as the murderer takes aim. He too should be sentenced for not attempting to warn the family and/or attack the gunman. A simple shout may have saved a life.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:46pm” In another corner of the photograph is a man police identified as the assassin’s lookout.”
Report Post »Xcori8r
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:17pmMaybe Manila needs effective gun control like Chicago, New York or D.C.
Certainly firearms can be as easily controlled there as in this country.
My sympathies to the family that had to watch their loved one being killed.
Report Post »Zai
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:54pmGun control will never work in the Philippines with the amount of corruption they have. Too easy to bribe people to shut their traps. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. And look at the way they keep electing actors/actresses. It will never move forward. Not in this lifetime.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:14pmThey have almost TOTAL gun control in the Philippines, very hard to get a permit, unless you have a lot of money, then you can buy a permit, you see that gun control never prevents the crimminals from getting guns, it’s much easier to have crimminal control.
Report Post »brotherhiram
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 9:09amXcori8r you are kidding right?
Report Post »Ialmostforgot
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:57amLooks like self defense to me. The guy with the camera shot 5 people, 3 of them blindfolded!
Report Post »MamaofJ5
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:02pmTacky.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:45pmTacky does not begin to do it justice.
Report Post »brotherhiram
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 9:08amtacky but pretty darn funny
Report Post »Hoosier Daddy
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:50amSince the Phillipines abolished the death penalty under that stupid, fat, liberal cow they had as president in 2006, this murdering piece of filth will need to hang himself in in cell, with or without help…doesn’t matter.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:12pmYes, Gloria didn’t like the death penalty, and I am sure Noy Noy doesn’t like it either..
Report Post »ilovethiscountry
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:13pmI bet their prisons are so bad that it would be more of a punishment to live the rest of his life in one than to be executed.
Report Post »bassist237
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:45amWow, that is bizarre. My prayers go out to the family. This man had no sense of responsibility, and definitely did not use any moral judgment or guidelines. Very sad times we live in, indeed.
Report Post »roostercogburn
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:11pmWhat is bizarre about it, things like this happen all the time in the Philippines, lucky to get the guy’s face on camera though, the shooter is probably strung out on shabu. Hell the bad guy‘s like to drive down the street and throw hand grandees over fences of people they don’t like, this guy sure won’t like the Manila jail, not a very fancy place to hang out, I hope he doesn‘t have rich friends or family so he can spend the rest of his day’s in the Philippine prison system.
Report Post »heavyduty
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:43amThese are some brave criminals to shoot a man taking their pictures as they shoot him. At least they caught them fairly fast. The criminals defense is going to be “I didn’t mean to shoot him, but a firecracker went off behind them and startled them.
Report Post »Plankchapel
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:43amWhat better proof do you need?
That was terrible, but what are the chances of having a camera in your hands when you are about to be murdered?! What are the chances of having the presence of mind to take a photograph when a gun is being pointed at you?
Report Post »slade37
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:01pmHe wasn’t taking a photo of the shooter. He was just taking a family picture, and the shooter was dumb enough to stand next to his family. This was purely by chance.
Report Post »MamaofJ5
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:01pmDoubt he noticed the gunmen before it was too late, otherwise I would think he would try and duck and protect his family.
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:40amAny defense lawyer that takes this case should be strung up with the killer…
Report Post »Ezekiel38
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:37amThere is no such thing like a perfect crime!
Report Post »chips1
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 8:00pmIt’s only perfect in California if you have connections with Arnold.
Report Post »menotyou
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:36amI do not see the gun? Can you?
Report Post »MAULEMALL
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:41amlook in front of the guys nose… the little round shiney thing.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:47amNo I don’t actually see it but the way he is holding his hands sure suggests he is holding one. His lookout guy isn’t very sharp (nor is the shooter) not to notice the CAMERA.
Report Post »StMichelob
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:53amLooks like a gun to me…
Report Post »But I’m just an ignorant tea-****** who needs to do his homework.
Meh.
MamaofJ5
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:56amThe flash of the camera reflected off the end of the barrel, it looks like a little light on the guys face.
Report Post »Plankchapel
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:58amI right-clicked on the photo and saved it to my desktop where I could click on it to see it and enlarge it.
The guy is holding the gun in the center of his face. You can see his left arm either holding or steadying the gun. The b right spot is the reflection of the flash.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:27pmCheck out the picture at foxnews.com sight they should still have a enlargement of the picture in which the gun is very clearly revealed pointed at the camera.
Report Post »Ken
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 1:32pmThat’s what a liberal would say: “I don’t see no gun!”
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 1:56pmTake a look at the large photo on main page … yes that is a gun and he has it pointed right at the person taking the photo … chilling.
Report Post »RobertCA
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:19pm100% a gun .
Report Post »StMichelob
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:36pmlol…OBVIOUSLY gun! The guy didn’t get shot with a flashlight half a second later!
Report Post »Nickname
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 6:10pmKen, a liberal would say, ” I don’t see any gun.” We tend to understand grammar more than the fringe right.
Report Post »Farmhand
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:22pmAh so Nick is saying that while they’d still be too dumb to see the gun, they’d at least express it eloquently.
Report Post »GeauxAlready
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 11:34amGood. Hope the crooks rot in jail…………………………….
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 12:26pmMay the Lord watch over and comfort this family in the time of great grief and of great loss. May this criminal be caught and justice delivered fairly and swiftly for the crime commited.
I seen this story a while ago on the foxnews.com web sight; the gun is very clearly visible being pointed at the victim apperantly just before the trigger is pulled.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 1:48pmThese thugs need to realize that there are cameras everywhere .. just last week we had a shop keeper killed (beaten to death) in his store in broad daylight .. but the murderer stopped first at the convience store next door … caught on tape and has been id’d and arrested!
Report Post »SeanW
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 2:17pmHope they publicly execute them slowly, make a week long extravaganza about it.
Report Post »Krutch
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:10pmI’ve seen their jails when I was on Shore Patrol duty. I can tell you they will rot there. Their system is not tolerant as are the U.S. systems. They may even get executed, and not 20 years from now!
Report Post »elk043004
Posted on January 4, 2011 at 7:05pm@Snowleopard…If you would had read the article before rushing to post you would have learned that the shooter and his accomplice have been arrested.
Report Post »tradexpertbuysell
Posted on January 5, 2011 at 7:43amSad.
But sadder still is that if it happened in this country the murderers would have had a fat cat progressive parent who would have hired an expensive gang of lawers and politicians to get them out. Then the murderers would have then got a cushy job at a ubiquitous liberal college. Then later become an advisor or unelected official with great power to take away innocent peoples’ freedoms.
Sound familiar?
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