TWO MOTORCYCLE thieves were killed in a shoot-out with policemen on Wednesday night following a brief chase in Sampaloc, Manila, police said Thursday.
However, a third cohort was able to escape in a motorcycle which members of the Manila Police District (MPD) Station 4 had been using as bait in their operations against similar groups.
“It is unfortunate but the suspect who escaped was able to steal the motorcycle owned by one of our policemen,” MPD Station 4 commander Supt. Jemar Modequillo told the Inquirer.
But at the same time, he gave the assurance that follow-up operations were underway for the arrest of the third man.
According to the police official, they had been using the motorcycle for days to lure car thieves preying on unattended vehicles on C. M. Recto Avenue.
Modequillo admitted that they underestimated the speed at which their targets carried out their illegal activities.
“It only takes seconds for these thieves to steal motorcycles,” he said.
Modequillo told the Inquirer that they were able to catch up with the motorcycle thieves because his men were already in place on C. M. Recto when their targets struck.
He said that at around 8 p.m., three men on a Honda Wave motorcycle (ZN 3761) stopped near the “bait.”
As two of them got on the other motorcycle, the police tried to arrest them but were met with gunfire.
The three men then fled, leading to a chase. The police shot the lone rider of the Honda Wave motorcycle and then went after his two cohorts who were riding on the stolen motorcycle.
Policemen caught up with the duo on Piy Margal Street near A. H. Lacson Avenue. One of the motorcycle thieves, however, fired on the pursuing operatives, prompting them to fire back.
He was hit several times and fell off the stolen motorcycle as his cohort sped away. With Azer N. Parrocha, contributor