Police fatally shoot villager who killed brother and resisted arrest in Zamboanga del Sur

Content warning: Graphic violence

COTABATO CITY —  Policemen shot dead, in self-defense, a man who attacked them with a machete after he hacked his brother to death on Saturday, February 28, in their yard in Purok Hayahay, Barangay Santo Antonio, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.

Officials of the Tukuran Municipal Police Station told reporters on Monday, March 2, that policemen sent to arrest Roberto Behante were forced to shoot him in self-defense when he attempted to hack one of them while they were trying to convince him to surrender for killing his brother, Ernesto, in a hacking incident about an hour earlier.

Local executives and traditional Christian community leaders in Tukuran separately confirmed to reporters that Behante and his brother were first overheard loudly exchanging insults before he pulled out a long machete and repeatedly hacked him.

The victim immediately succumbed to the serious wounds sustained in the attack, according to police investigators and barangay officials.

Friends and relatives of Behante reported that he was addicted to shabu and often became unruly when under the influence of alcohol.

Local officials added that Behante and his brother, whom he killed before being neutralized by police for refusing to cooperate, frequently quarreled over family issues and his substance use, including shabu and marijuana.