FOUR alleged hired killers out to carry out a hit were gunned down in a shootout with policemen in Quezon City before dawn on Sunday.
At press time, only one of the members of the reported gun-for-hire gang has been identified as Recto Piadozo, a resident of Talavera, Nueva Ecija, based on the identification card found on him.
Three of the suspects died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds. The fourth one was taken to Quezon Memorial Medical Center where he passed away after an hour.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police earlier learned from an informant that the group was about to kill someone in the Cubao area.
Chief Insp. Elizabeth Jasmin, CIDG spokesperson, said that the same gang was believed to be behind the death of Alberto Labasbas, a taxi driver who was shot dead on Jan. 27 at a gas station in Canumay, Valenzuela City.
Acting on the tip, the CIDG sent a team—accompanied by the informant—to the Cubao area where they spotted the four suspects in a white Honda Accord with license plate UHS 888 headed eastward on Aurora Boulevard. The vehicle had reportedly been stolen from its owner.
The policemen started following the suspects’ car on their unmarked vehicles but the Honda suddenly picked up speed, resulting in a chase.
A patrol car of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) with Chief Insp. Rolando Lorenzo of the QCPD City Hall detachment noticed the commotion and also joined the pursuit.
At this point, the suspects opened fire on their pursuers, leading to a firefight between the two groups on the southbound lane of Katipunan Avenue near Aurora Boulevard in Barangay Loyola Heights at 3:15 a.m. Sunday.
Recovered from the suspects were two cal. .45 pistols and a 9mm pistol, a fragmentation hand grenade and a knife, Jasmin said. With Jovic Yee