3 hijack suspects shot dead in QC

Three suspected Paracale gang members were killed during an alleged shootout with police officers of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) following a foiled hijacking attempt of a truck yesterday morning and a carjacking incident they staged earlier that day.

Superintendent Franklin Moises Mabanag, chief of the QCPD-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said Waldo de Guzman, Richard Compas, and Gil Toregoza were shot dead by a team led by QCPD-CIDU deputy chief Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr. and Inspector Roberto Razon.

According to Mabanag, the suspects carried a .45 caliber pistol, a .380 caliber pistol, a .38 caliber revolver and a fragmentation grenade.

The truck the suspects attempted to hijack carried P6 million worth of protomalt, an ingredient used in the manufacture of the chocolate drink Milo, that was supposed to be delivered to a Nestle plant in Lipa, Batangas, Pedrozo told The STAR in an interview.

Leonilo Cabale, driver of the cargo truck (PUV-288) of APL Logistics, said Quezon City was not on his usual route from a port in Manila but the company decided to change the route to avoid a repeat of a past hijacking.

Cabale was with a helper while driving along Quezon Avenue when a green Isuzu Hi-Lander (TWS-405) blocked their path at around 9:30 a.m. before the vehicle could reach Araneta Avenue.

Sensing a hijacking attempt, Cabale and his helper got out of the truck and ran. At this point, two of the suspects got out of the Hi-Lander, boarded the truck and drove off.

Pedrozo’s team chased the suspects, cornering them as they made a turn at the corner of Calamba and Don Pepe streets in Barangay Sto. Domingo. The two suspects got out of the truck and opened fire at the policemen while trying to transfer to the Hi-Lander.

But the lawmen retaliated and managed to hit three suspects, who died on the spot. According to Pedrozo, they were not certain whether the suspects had other companions, who might have escaped at the height of the gunbattle.

Upon verification, Pedrozo said they found out that the Hi-lander was forcibly taken from Marjorie Ocampo, who was waiting for passengers at Philcoa at around 6 a.m.