2 robbers, 1 driver slain in Bacolod City shootout

BACOLOD CITY – Two suspected robbers were killed in a shootout with members of the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics Unit in front of the Sum-ag National High School in Bacolod City, about 4:45 p.m. Friday.

The shootout also caused the death of a trisikad driver hit by a stray bullet.

Three others, including the daughter of a town mayor, were injured in a hail of bullets.

At least 23 spent shells and slugs of 9-mm pistols and M-16 rifles were initially recovered at the crime scene in Purok Nami-Nami I, Barangay Sum-ag.

The two slain robbers were still unidentified as of posting time.

The police identified the other fatality as Delfin Ortiz, 70, who was about to alight from his trisikad when the shooting occurred. He was hit in the stomach and declared dead on arrival at the South Bacolod General Hospital (SBGH).

Those injured were Estrella Claridad, 71, Walter Dojena, and Mekaila Malabor, daughter of Isabela Mayor Joselito Malabor. They were all rushed to the SBGH. Police records show Claridad hit in her right arm, Dojena in his legs, and Malabor in her left thigh.

Initial investigation showed that the suspected robbers on Friday afternoon held up a delivery van of the Japanese Tobacco Inc. in Purok Maghili-ugyon, Barangay Taloc, Bago City in Negros Occidental, and took an unspecified amount in cash collection.

Passing tricycle drivers, who saw the incident, notified the police. The seven-man SWAT team, conducting a border control patrol in Sum-ag, responded and a chase ensued, until the suspects, aboard a blue Kawasaki Barako motorcycle, were cornered in Abuanan Road, Purok Nami Nami Uno.