Gunmen rob pawnshop in Pasay mall, cause panic among shoppers

Metropoint Mall PHOTO FROM WIKIMAPIA.ORG

MANILA, Philippines—Pandemonium broke out at a mall in Pasay City Thursday afternoon when four men fired at security guards who were chasing them after they robbed a pawnshop, police said.

Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, Southern Police District chief, said the robbery happened at 3:20 p.m. at the Tambunting Pawnshop on the third floor of the Metropoint Mall on Taft Avenue, corner Edsa, in Pasay City.

The robbers, who were believed to be members of the so-called Martilyo Gang, held pawnshop employees at bay with their guns and scooped up their loot after hammering the glass casing of the pawned jewelry on display.

Mall security guards tried to give the fleeing robbers a chase. “The robbers instead fired their guns to create a commotion and distract the security guards,” Estipona said, adding that the shooting caused panic among mall goers who scrambled for the exits.

He said the robbers managed to escape but that Pasay policemen were still scouring the mall because of the possibility some of them were still hiding in the building.

No information was immediately available as to whether anyone was injured in the shooting.

Operations at the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit stations that are connected to the mall were disrupted due to the incident.

Pasay police closed off the mall as well as the connecting bridges to the train stations for several minutes for security and clearing operations.—With Matikas Santos, INQUIRER.net