Robbers hit Pasay mall pawnshop

MANILA, Philippines - Four men brandishing pistols ransacked a pawnshop in a mall at the intersection of EDSA and Taft Avenues in Pasay City yesterday afternoon, taking an undetermined number of watches and jewelry.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Melchor Reyes said the unidentified robbers entered the Tambunting Pawnshop at the third floor of the Metropoint Mall at around 3:30 p.m.

One of the robbers fired his gun while the others began breaking the glass cases in the pawnshop. “The robbery only took a few minutes,” Reyes said.

One of the robbers accidentally cut his arm on glass shards as he scooped up the pieces of jewelry on display, the police official said. The robbers fled to a waiting tricycle as police officers and security guards closed the mall.

Hundreds of shoppers and commuters panicked and ran toward the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations, but police officers prevented people from going out as they searched the mall.

Police said the images of the robbers were caught by surveillance cameras in the mall.

According to LRT Authority spokesman Hernan Cabrera, the LRT and MRT stations suspended operations for less than an hour.