2 killed after evading Tondo checkpoint

CHECKPOINT TURNS INTO FINAL STOP Some 200 meters from the checkpoint they allegedly tried to avoid, here lies one of the men who were killed in what the Manila police said was a shootout past midnight Tuesday. ARNOLD ALMACEN

Two motorcycle-riding men were killed in what police said was a shootout after they sped past a checkpoint in Tondo, Manila, shortly after midnight Tuesday.

“They were probably robbers who thought there wouldn’t be a checkpoint at Abad Santos,” said Supt. Ernesto Tendero, commander of the Manila Police District’s Tondo station.

“They were surprised to find one there.”

Tendero said the two men came from Claro M. Recto Avenue then turned right at Abad Santos Avenue, where they encountered the checkpoint set up in connection with the election gun ban.

They actually slowed down on their Yamaha Mio motorcycle as they approached the checkpoint. But instead of coming to a full stop, they accelerated, the officer said.

“We signaled them to stop but they ignored us, so my men gave chase,” Tendero said.

About 200 meters past the checkpoint, near the corner of Bambang Street, the two men fired at the pursuing police team, forcing the latter to shoot back. The two men died on the spot, Tendero said.

He said a .357 Magnum and .38-cal. revolver were recovered from the two men, who remained unidentified at press time.

The police also recovered a light green shoulder bag containing a P500 bill, two Nokia 1020 cell phones and a set of identification cards belonging to another person.