Alleged car thief killed in Quezon City shootout

A suspected car thief was killed in a shootout with Quezon City policemen who tried to accost him while in the act of stealing a parked car before dawn yesterday.

The still unidentified man died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds he sustained during the shootout with operatives of the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit.

Superintendent Antonio Yarra, chief of the General Investigation Section of the QCPD-CIDU, said the suspect was chanced upon by operatives on patrol led by Inspector Roberto Razon at the corner of Panay Avenue and Scout Esguerra Road. Yarra said police have been on routine patrol in the area on the instruction of QCPD director Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula.

At around 4:15 a.m., policemen saw the suspect in the act of stealing a silver Mitsubishi Lancer (TPJ-903) owned by Pedro Felix Garcia parked in front of the SGB Condominium. Using a rock, the suspect smashed the glass window at the side of the driver’s seat that caught the attention of the policemen.

“When about to be checked, the suspect, armed with a caliber .38 pistol, shot it out with the policemen, causing his death,” Yarra told The STAR.

Razon said that since it was still dark when the shootout happened, it was not clear whether the suspect had companions in the area.

Since the car did not have an alarm, Garcia, who was staying in one of the condominium units, did not know the vehicle was about to be stolen until the security guard called his attention when the gun battle was already happening, said case investigator PO2 Joy Marcelo. She said recovered from inside the car was the rock used by the suspect in destroying the glass window. The vehicle did not incur any other damages.

Marcelo also hinted that when police reached him, they found out that the suspect, who was estimated to be in his early 20s, was wearing three layers of short pants that could be removed to avoid being recognized while fleeing.