2 car theft suspects killed in Malate shootout

MANILA, Philippines - Two suspected car thieves were killed when they reportedly engaged policemen in a shootout in Malate, Manila at past midnight yesterday.

Manila Police District acting director Senior Superintendent Alex Gutierrez said the slain suspects were believed responsible for a series of car thefts in the Malate area.

He described the suspects as in their mid-30s and with jailhouse gang tattoos on their bodies. Two .38 caliber revolvers were also recovered from their persons, Gutierrez added.

Senior Police Officer 1 Charles John Duran reported that Malate police station chief Superintendent Ernesto Tendero Jr., together with Police Officers 3 Clyde Villareal and Nelson de los Reyes, were on patrol along Quirino Avenue when they noticed two men smash the window of a red Toyota Corolla (PRP-174), which was parked unattended in front of the Bureau of Plant Industry building.

Tendero and his men alighted from their car to confront the men, but were met by a hail of bullets fired by the suspects, triggering a brief shootout.

The owner of the car, law graduate Gary Aure, 27, told police he parked his vehicle to visit a friend nearby. He inspected his belongings inside and said no valuables were missing.

Tendero told The STAR he and his men have been conducting nightly patrols in the Malate district following reports of rampant thefts and robberies in the area.