P463K taken in Manila school bookstore holdup

Two men pretending to be customers held up a school bookstore Thursday in Manila, taking around P463,000 in cash after holding the employees at gunpoint.

The police noted how the robbers apparently knew their way around Espiritu Santo Parochial School, which is inside a church compound on Rizal Avenue, Sta. Cruz.

“It was very suspicious that the men knew where the money box was. They were also familiar with the ins and outs of school and church,” said SPO1 Edgar Julian of the Manila Police District (MPD) Crimes Against Property Investigation Section.

The two men arrived at the school’s Oroquieta gate around 3 p.m., telling the guard that they would just buy books at the store on the second floor.

Once at the store’s waiting area, the men drew out handguns and announced the holdup, ordering the six employees and two customers to get down on the floor. One of the robbers then went to the cashier counter and took the money box, as well as the cell phone of one of the employees.

The store employees could not provide useful descriptions of the robbers, who managed to slip out of the building despite the presence of security guards, Julian said. Maricar Brizuela