Three men were killed in two separate shootouts with Manila police on Wednesday night.
While the fatalities remain unidentified, two were confirmed to be holdup men based on items recovered from their bodies that belonged to a robbery victim.
The two apparently held up a De La Salle-College of St. Benilde student, Rosevin Mae, 19, on Wednesday as she was walking along P. Ocampo Street.
The suspects took off on a motorcycle with Mae’s shoulder bag containing personal items and P3,000 in cash.
After the victim asked the help of a security guard at the university, she was taken to the nearest police station in Malate to report the incident.
Case investigator Senior Police Officer 1 Ramir Dimagiba of the homicide section said Mae’s description of the suspects and the vehicle they used was immediately relayed to MPD-Police Station 9 personnel patrolling the area.
Responding policemen came upon the two suspects riding a red motorcycle with a sidecar near the corner of Singalong Street in Malate.
Police said the suspects fired at them first when they were spotted. The policemen retaliated, killing the two on the spot.
An hour later, MPD-Police Station 11 agents killed in a gunfight an unidentified male who shot at them during a vehicle check along Muelle de la Industria Street in Binondo.
The policemen had approached three men aboard two motorcyles—two riding in tandem and one riding alone—because their vehicles had no plate numbers, said case investigator Senior Police Officer 2 Virgo Villareal of the homicide section.
But one of the men riding in tandem immediately transferred to the other motorcycle, which then sped away.
The driver who was left behind pulled out a gun and shot at the police, forcing them to shoot back.
The unidentified man died of two gunshot wounds in the head.