Mall guard killed in bank heist

A security guard was killed while four others were wounded in a shootout with robbers that had targeted a bank inside a Quezon City mall yesterday.

Gerardo Bernal, a security guard of the Ever Gotesco Mall in Commonwealth, died while undergoing treatment at the Fairview General Hospital for bullet wounds in the body.

Those hurt were identified as security guards Pepito Fronda, Agustin Tadeo, Constantino Mahilum, and Philip Quintas.

Fronda and Tadeo are confined at the Malvar General Hospital while Mahilum and Quintas, of Crescent Security Agency and Enriquez Security Agency, respectively, are receiving treatment at the Fairview General Hospital.

Initial investigation revealed that employees of an Asiatrust Bank branch, located at the second floor of the mall, were taking bags of cash to an armored van waiting at the side entrance at around 11:19 a.m. when four men suddenly grabbed two of the bags.

According to witnesses they saw four decent-looking men loitering near a store by the escalator. They were making several calls from their cell phones, one witness said.

Just as an Asiatrust teller and bank escorts reached the foot of the escalator, the four intercepted them and grabbed the bags.

An exchange of gunfire between the suspects and the bank escorts ensued.

At this point, several other suspects, who were positioned outside the mall began to open fire at the glass panels of the side entrance. They also shot the responding mall guards.

Mall patrons began taking cover and scampering in various directions. The ensuing commotion allowed the suspects to escape.

Chief Inspector Rodolfo Jaraza, chief of the Central Police District-District Police Intelligence Unit (CPD-DPIU), said the suspects fled on board a silver Toyota Altis toward Batasan Hills.

Upon reaching Luzviminda in Batasan, the suspects transferred to a Starex van and sped off to an unknown direction. The Toyota Altis was later recovered by police.

Jaraza said there could have been 10 persons involved in the heist.

As of press time, police have yet to determine the amount of money stolen from the bank. – Katherine Adraneda