In just under an hour, Quezon City policemen killed five suspects in alleged encounters on Sunday after the slain men reportedly fired at them first.
Of the five suspects, only one has been identified so far. The Quezon City Police District (QCPD), however, said that three of them were burglars while the other two were killed in a buy-bust operation.
A report to Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel, QCPD director, said the Novaliches police received a call through the 911 hotline about two suspicious men on Midway Street in Forest Hills.
Policemen who went to the area around 2:50 a.m. said they saw two men. But as they approached the pair, one of them fired at the police, leading to a shootout.
Slain suspect’s description
One of the suspects was killed as the other escaped. The dead man was described as between 25 and 30 years old, with fair complexion and of medium build.
He was in a black long-sleeved shirt and gray shorts, with “Bornok,” “Dela Vega” and “Duran” tattooed on his right shoulder and back.
Police said they recovered a .38-caliber revolver from him and a backpack containing shirts, a steel saw and screwdriver.
Two other suspected burglars and two drug suspects were killed around 2 a.m. in separate encounters.
At Barangay Batasan Hills, the police shot dead “Rigor” and “Rakrak” on San Mateo Road after a guard reported that he saw the suspects who were believed to be behind several burglaries in the area.
A Batasan police station report said the two men “sensed the presence” of the police, leading to a firefight.
Tools found in backpack
Recovered from the fatalities were two .38-caliber revolvers and 12 sachets of “shabu” (crystal meth). Found in Rakrak’s violet backpack were a hammer, a screwdriver and a steel pipe.
Around the same time at Barangay Milagrosa, Danilo Valenzuela Galvez and a man known only as “Bansot” also died in a shootout with policemen on Alvarez Extension.
The pair allegedly sold drugs to jeepney and tricycle drivers in Cubao and Project 4.