Motorcycle thief killed in Laguna shootout

SAN PEDRO CITY – An alleged motorcycle thief was killed in a shootout with police officers in this city early Wednesday.

In a text message, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, chief of the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) police, said the shootout happened around 3 a.m. in Barangay San Vicente.

Eleazar said prior to the shootout, a resident identified as Emerson Layco Santos, 40, appeared at the police station and reported that his motorcycle had been forcibly taken by unidentified suspects hours earlier.

The station then dispatched a team of police officers to the area where the motorcycle was sent a team to the vicinity and chanced upon a man on the victim’s stolen motorcycle.

But when the police officers flagged down the motorcycle, the unidentified suspect opened fire, prompting the officers to return fire. The unidentified suspect was killed on the spot, police said.         /muf