2 dead, 3 hurt in teen rob gang war

MANILA, Philippines - At least two members of an alleged teenage robbery gang were killed and three others wounded when they were ambushed – reportedly by a rival gang – in Caloocan City before dawn yesterday.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos said one of the fatalities, a 13-year-old boy, recently escaped from the custody of local social workers. He has been charged in several pending robbery cases.

The identities of the other fatality and the three wounded victims, who who were brought to the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City, have yet to be established as of press time yesterday.

“For now, it’s only the boy that we were able to identify. We are still investigating and in the process of identifying the other victims,” Santos told The STAR.

Chief Inspector Rodrigo Soriano, Caloocan City police station investigation chief, said the victims were in a red Toyota Corolla (PRP-422) when they were waylaid by several armed men along Bagumbong Taas street in Barangay 171, Caloocan City North at around 3:30 a.m.

The attackers riddled the victims’ car with bullets, then commandeered a taxi, Soriano said. Barangay 171 watchmen brought the wounded victims to the hospital.

The Northern Police District-Scene of the Crime Operatives, led by Senior Inspector Margarita Libres, recovered from the crime scene 15 shells for a .45 caliber pistol and 17 shells for an M16 Armalite rifle.

Santos said witnesses surfaced at the police station yesterday and identified some of the gunmen through the police rogues’ gallery as members of the Akyat Bahay gang operating in their area.

Santos said they were still looking into reports that the attackers took revenge after the victims’ gang abducted one of their members.