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‘Mailman told cop to put gun down’
Attorney Bruce L. Mailman asked Police Officer Christopher S. Santos to put down his service gun before the officer fatally shot Joanna T. Vitug and then himself, Saipan Tribune learned.
Multiple sources disclosed that when Mailman saw Santos holding a gun, he tried to get the officer to put down his firearm.
Saipan Tribune asked Mailman about it but he refused to comment.
He, however, stated that Vitug worked for their law office for nearly nine years.
“She was a very highly skilled paralegal, a warm and wonderful young woman, and a devoted mother. We miss her terribly,” said Mailman.
Vitug, 30, and Santos, 24, have one child together. Vitug has three other children.
The shooting happened Friday morning inside the law office of Mailman and his wife, attorney Maya Kara. Kara was also inside the office in Garapan when the tragic incident happened.
Sources also disclosed that aside from Mailman and Kara, Santos’ mother was also inside the law office along with two other persons.
Police received information that Santos and Vitug broke up two months ago. Apparently, Santos tried to get her back but she refused.
Police said that, according to witness accounts, Santos and Vitug were arguing when the on-duty officer fired his DPS-issued firearm at her before shooting himself in the head.
Both Santos and Vitug were rushed to the Commonwealth Health Center, where they succumbed to their injuries, police said.
