MANILA, Philippines ? Armed men took four duffle bags with an undetermined amount of cash from an armored van parked at a Quezon City shopping mall Tuesday afternoon and engaged security guards and van escorts in a shootout.

Police said at least seven people, including two sisters, were hurt in the gunfight that ensued after the robbery that took place at the Waltermart in Muñoz.

?Some of the suspects took four duffle bags from the armored van and fled from the scene, while their companions engaged mall guards in a firefight,? a police investigator said.

Police also held five security escorts of the armored van for questioning. They were identified as Rolyvic Temporado, Marvin Suazo, Roger Mumba, Rufino Molano, and Calixto Sibong.

Those who were hurt were identified as roving Metrobank teller Jayson Arienda, guard John Ray Reyes, guard Waldo Guimba, John Castre, Araly Guiag, Rachel Almazan and her sister Michelle.

Superintendent Gerardo Ratuita, chief of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD-CIDU), said he could not confirmed at press time the reports that between 10 and 15 men armed with high-powered weapons participated in the robbery.

Waltermart?s vice president for business development, Simplicio ?Jojo? de Guzman, said the mall has a closed circuit television system that could have recorded the incident.

De Guzman said that mall security guards and escort security of the armored van managed to engage the suspects in a shootout and was able to apprehend three of the robbers. They were not identified.

He added they would fully cooperate with the investigation.

Ratuita said that the robbers were able to enter the basement parking area of the mall where the van of the Mandarin security agency was parked.

He also said that the robbers fled from the scene on board a Ford Expedition van which was later found abandoned inside nearby Veterans Village.

Ratuita said investigators were trying to determine how the robbers were able to enter the parking area.