Rookie lady cop killed in ambush

Police: Victim’s car was shot 16 times. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A personal grudge was being eyed as the motive in the killing of a rookie policewoman who was ambushed as she was driving home on Sunday night in Manila.

PO1 Jorsan Marie Alafriz, a member of the Barbosa police station of the Manila Police District (MPD), was shot 16 times, mostly in the head, inside her silver Mitsubishi Mirage.

The 25-year-old victim was taken by other policemen who rushed to the scene to Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center where she later died.

The shooting happened at 10:20 p.m. Sunday after she crossed the corner of C. M. Recto Avenue and Rizal Avenue.

Two men on a motorcycle followed her, approached the driver’s side and then the backrider took out a gun and fired at the car.

With the victim wounded, she lost control of the vehicle which struck two tricycles parked by the side of the road.

SPO4 Glenzor Vallejo, the case investigator, said Alafriz’s killers wore black jackets, face masks and motorcycle helmets.

Of the 16 bullets that struck her car, five hit her on the left cheek while one pierced the wrist, Senior Insp. Fernildo de Castro, chief of the MPD’s Homicide Division, told the Inquirer.

De Castro said it was possible that the shooter used an automatic 9 mm pistol.

A total of 13 shells from that type of firearm were recovered inside the victim’s vehicle, Vallejo added.

Based on the MPD’s records, Alafriz joined the police force in 2015. The Barbosa police station was her first assignment where she was part of the beat patrol.

The night she was killed, she had just ended her shift and was headed home.

“Ask anyone and they will tell you she was a good cop. What a waste,” De Castro said. “She was the type of policewoman who rushed home after work. She was not linked to drugs or any criminal activity,” he added.

According to De Castro, they were looking into personal grudge as the motive in her killing.

Alafriz had a live-in partner who told the police that a few days before she was killed, she received threatening text messages. Her cell phone had been turned over to investigators who were verifying the information.

The police said they already had a “person of interest” although De Castro declined to go into details to avoid jeopardizing their follow-up operations. –Aie Balagtas See