Convenience store guard killed by 2 robbers in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines—Two armed robbers shot to death Sunday morning a security guard who foiled their heist at a 24-hour convenience store in Quezon City.

Closed circuit television (CCTV) footage captured the two men gunning down the security guard before taking his service firearm and fleeing.

Reynaldo Guiatao, 30, of the Pichel’s security agency, of Novaliches, Caloocan City, was killed instantly after the robbers, fired on him again at close range, hitting him in the abdomen, before they left.

Police Office 2 Roldan Cornejo, of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), said the crime happened around 6 a.m. at a convenience store at the corner of Quezon Avenue and Scout Reyes Street in Barangay (village) Paligsahan.

According to Cornejo, the security guard was manning his post inside the convenience store when two men entered and started looking around the shelves, posing as customers.

Guiatao then noticed one of the two men drawing a handgun, prompting him to reach for his own firearm. However, before Guiatao was able to draw his .38-cal. revolver, one of the robbers shot him in the abdomen and he fell to the ground, Cornejo said.

Before the panicking robbers fled from the store, one of them grabbed the wounded Guiatao’s revolver before shooting him at close range in the neck to ensure the kill. The two then ran away with the stolen gun.

Store cashier Nelia Nebrida told police investigators that the robbers failed to open the cash register and only took Guiatao’s gun.

Scene of the Crime Office (SOCO) personnel recovered two bullet casings from a 9mm pistol near the victim’s body.

Police investigators are hoping that a review of the CCTV footage of the crime would help them identify and arrest the perpetrators.