Cops kill 3 suspected car thieves in Marikina

Three suspected car thieves on board a stolen vehicle were killed yesterday during a running gunbattle with police operatives in Marikina City.

The unidentified suspects sustained multiple gunshot wounds in the body and died on the spot, said Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., Marikina City police chief.

Recovered from their possession were three handguns.

The suspects were on board a dark-green Mitsubishi L-300 van going toward Antipolo City when spotted by a team from the Traffic Management Group (TMG) that was on routine patrol at about 11:10 a.m. along Marcos Highway in Barangay San Roque.

Chief Inspector Ferdinand Villanueva, team leader of the TMG team, said the vehicle’s license plate PJD 695 was registered to another vehicle.

Villanueva said they tried to flag down the vehicle, but the driver stepped on the gas while his companions opened fire at the TMG men. A running gunbattle ensued.

The TMG agents cornered the suspects at the corner of Chesnut and Flamingo streets at the Midland Subdivision in Barangay San Roque and peppered their vehicle with bullets from their caliber 9mm automatic pistols and M16 rifles.

Chief Inspector Antonio Cruz, Marikina police station investigation division chief, said the suspects died inside their vehicle.

They were clad in maong pants and T-shirts and were not carrying any identification cards in their wallets, Cruz said.

They were still holding their handguns, Cruz added.

Crime scene investigators from the Eastern Police District (EPD) arrived and lifted evidence found at the scene. — Non Alquitran