Gang robs QC bank

A band of robbers settled for an undetermined amount of loose bills after failing to open the vault of a commercial bank they robbed along Judge Jimenez St. and E. Rodriguez Blvd. in Quezon City, police said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, Quezon City Police District director, said a manhunt operation has been launched against the seven suspects, one of them a woman.

He said the suspects were recorded on the closed-circuit television camera of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and are now the subject of a citywide manhunt.

“We have leads,” Gatdula said without elaborating. Witnesses said some of the suspects, who were wearing ski masks, were seen brandishing assault rifles and pistols when they entered the bank at around 10:30 a.m.

A witness likewise told The STAR that one of the robbers disarmed the security guards and entered the UCPB branch.

After failing to open the vault, the suspects fled aboard three separate vehicles, a white Toyota Corolla with license plates WPZ-688, a green Honda Civic, UCW 153, and another vehicle heading towards New Manila district in Quezon City.

Anti-carnapping operatives are now tracing the owners of the get-away vehicles.