2 jeepney holdup suspects killed by Manila cops on patrol

MANILA, Philippines — Alert Manila policemen killed in a shootout before midnight Sunday two of four suspected holdup men after the suspects, who posed as passengers, pulled a heist aboard a public utility jeepney in the Tondo district.

Operatives of the Manila Police District (MPD) Moriones, Tondo station 2, were conducting routine patrol along Morga Street when they spotted a commotion inside a passenger jeepney.

The ensuing gun battle resulted in the death of two unidentified armed men, one of whom was described to be between 25 and 30 years old, five-foot-four inches tall, dark-skinned, of medium build, with a Bahala na Gang tattoo, clad in a black jacket worn over a pair of shorts.

His companion was described to be between 30 and 35 years old, five-foot-five inches tall, dark-skinned, and was clad in a black t-shirt worn over a pair of faded jeans.

Two of their alleged cohorts were able to escape and are the subjects of a police hunt.

MPD station 2 commander, Superintendent Jemar Modequillo, said the incident happened at around 11 p.m., Sunday, at the corner of Morga and Juan Luna Streets in Tondo.

Modequillo revealed that before the shooting, a passenger jeepney (NXT-299), plying the Divisoria-Velasquez route, was picking up passengers along Padre Rada Street when four men flagged down the PUJ.

While the passenger jeepney was traversing Juan Luna Street, the four men brandished handguns and announced the hold-up, divesting at least eight passengers of their valuables. The robbers then got off at the corner of Morga Street and fled.

Modequillo pointed out that his men from the station’s anti-crime unit, who were conducting patrol, noticed the commotion inside the PUJ and pursued the fleeing suspects. When the policemen ordered the four men to stop, the armed robbers fired at them instead, prompting them to retaliate.

He said that two of the fleeing suspects were killed instantly from multiple bullet wounds in the body while two others completed their escape.

Recovered from the slain suspects were a .38 caliber revolver and a .357 magnum as well as the jeepney passengers’ stolen belongings. The bodies were brought to the St. Yvan funeral parlor for autopsy and safekeeping.

MPD station 2 operatives, who engaged the suspects in the shootout, were advised to surrender their firearms to the Crime Laboratory for ballistics examination.