3 suspected robbers killed in shootout with cops; 2 others escape

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Policemen killed three of five robbery suspects in a shootout on Saturday evening in Quezon City, but two of the men escaped, according to a "GMA Weekend Report" that aired shortly after midnight. Investigators believe the five men – still unidentified as of this posting – were the same ones who figured in a robbery on Saturday night on Commonwealth Avenuie in Barangay Manggahan, Quezon City. They were on two motorbikes, one red and the other blue, driving north through Mindanao Avenue. As they got near the Quirino Highway intersection, the policemen tried to flag them down, according to the report of GMA's Ian Cruz. It was Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerea, chief of the CIDG-NCR, who narrated what happened. Instead of slowing down, the motorbikes speed up and the men started firing at the lawmen, a team composed of cops from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Anti-Carnapping Unit. The cops returned fire and brief gunfight followed. One of the suspects was hit and died on the spot. Another suspect was able to cross to the opposite lane, but cops also hit him. Another suspect was wounded and was taken to the Quezon City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police recovered a .45-caliber pistol and two .38-caliber pistols at the scene of the shootout. As of this posting, police were continuing its pursuit of the two other suspects who escaped, according to Director Leopoldo Bataoil, chief of the NCR Police Office, who went to the shootout location. - GMANews.TV