Taytay shoot-out leaves 4 dead

Four suspected robbers trying to elude pursuing barangay officials were killed in a shoot-out with police in Taytay, Rizal, Saturday.

Taytay police chief Supt. Arthur Masungsong told the Inquirer that the suspects, reportedly members of the notorious “Basag-Kotse Gang,” had just held up a woman and her daughter at gunpoint before the shoot-out.

Police said Lourdes Soltura, 59, and her daughter Danzene, 20, were waiting for a ride home on Ortigas Avenue Extension at around 2 p.m. when a white Tamaraw FX (PBA 741) stopped in front of them.

Police said three of the suspects then got off the vehicle and at gunpoint grabbed the elder Soltura’s shoulder bag and cell phone. Before fleeing, one of the suspects fired a warning shot to scare the victims off.

“This (warning shot) alerted the kagawads deployed in the area, who then gave chase. While in pursuit of the three, they radioed the police,” Masungsong said.

The suspects, meanwhile, headed towards Katikling.

Mobile patrols were deployed in possible exit points to prevent the suspects’ escape. They were finally intercepted at Baytown Coastal Road, Barangay Muzon, near the boundary of Angono and Taytay at around 2:45 p.m.

Police recovered one .45 cal. pistol, three .38 cal. revolvers, and one Magnum 45 revolver, among others, from the suspects. Two blue T-shirts with “Pulis” markings on them were also retrieved from the vehicle.

Police identified one of the suspects as Danilo Arsellas, a resident of Barangay Sta. Ana in Taytay. His body, as well as those of his companions’, were brought to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory for autopsy. Kristine Felisse Mangunay