Two motorcycle-riding men, one of them suspected to be a member of a notorious street gang, were killed late Wednesday night in a shootout with Manila police who had responded to a distress call from a robbery victim.
One of the suspects was described to be between 35 and 40 years old, five-foot-six inches tall, dark-skinned, of medium build, with a tattoo of the jail gang “Bahala Na” on his right shoulder.
The other was described to be between 30 and 35 years old, five-foot-four inches tall, slim, dark-skinned. The words “Clemente Sunga,” and “Tuklaw Lita” were tattooed on his chest and on his leg.
Both men died instantly from multiple bullet wounds in the gunfight with mobile patrol unit operatives of Manila Police District Sampaloc Station 4.
The incident happened at around 11:30 p.m. at the corner of España Boulevard and Algeciras Street, Barangay 450 Zone 45 in Sampaloc.
SPO2 Edmundo Cabal, of the homicide section, said that minutes before the incident, Carmiline Palacol, 20, of Paco, Manila, was waiting for a passenger jeepney at the corner of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard and Pureza Street when a black motorcycle with no license plates and with two men on board stopped in front of her.
The men whipped out handguns and took Palacol’s purse containing a mobile phone and P500 in cash.
The victim immediately reported the robbery to the Sampaloc police station.
Responding policemen quickly spotted the suspects along España Boulevard. But when they accosted the duo, the latter allegedly fired at their pursuers, prompting them to retaliate.
Two .38 caliber revolvers and Palacol’s purse were recovered from the slain men who were positively identified by victim as the ones who staged the robbery.