2 motorcycle thieves slain in Laguna

SAN PEDRO CITY—Two suspected thieves were killed in an encounter with policemen in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna early on Wednesday.

In a text message, Laguna police director Senior Superintendent Florendo Saligao said the two unidentified men figured in a firefight with policemen at around 1 a.m. while the law enforcers were looking for the culprits who earlier stole a motorcycle owned by a Joshua Amador, 19.

Amador, he said, went to the Sta. Rosa City police station past midnight on Tuesday to report that two men had forcibly taken his motorcycle while in front a bar in Barangay (village) Tagapo.

The police intelligence unit traced the stolen motorcycle in the nearby village of Malitlit at around 1 a.m. But when the police were about to approach the suspects, the two men opened fire, prompting the law enforcers to retaliate and killed both in the gunfight, Saligao said.

The police recovered two firearms as well as the stolen motorcycle, he said.