Gun-for-hire group leader hurt in shootout with Batangas cops

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LUCENA CITY—An alleged leader of a gun-for-hire group operating in the Calabarzon region was wounded Tuesday in a gun battle with the police in Rosario town in Batangas province.

The Batangas police reported on Wednesday, August 23, that operatives, armed with a warrant of arrest, swooped down around 4 p.m. on the house of Eleazar Rocio, number one on the list of wanted criminals in the region, in Barangay Pangao.

But instead of surrendering, Rocio and his “bodyguard,” Leandro Guerra, boarded a car and fled, prompting the police to chase them.

The suspects were flagged down in Barangay San Roque, also in Rosario.

But the suspects escaped on foot towards a sugar cane plantation until the police cornered them, and an exchange of gunfire ensued.

Rocio was hit in his abdomen and was taken to a hospital in Lipa City, while Guerra was arrested.

Police recovered a .9-mm pistol from Rocio while Guerra yielded a caliber 45 gun.

The suspects face criminal charges.

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