Robber killed, 3 hurt in QC heist

MANILA, Philippines - One of five robbers was killed by two policemen after the group barged into the house and office of a fish dealer in Quezon City yesterday morning.

The robbers shot two security guards and a teenage girl during the heist and as they escaped from Cesar Sta. Ana’s house on 8th Avenue in Barangay Socorro, said Superintendent Ramon Pranada, commander of the Quezon City Police District Station 7.

The robbers barged into the two-story house at around 10 a.m. and shot security guard Ronald Cepriano. They then rounded up Sta. Ana’s staff and hogtied them. Sta. Ana went down from the second floor of the house, met with the robbers and led them to his office to divert them from where his children were hiding, Pranada said.

Pranada said the robbers ransacked the premises for about 20 minutes and took earnings worth around P200,000 and cell phones from around 20 people then inside.

Unknown to the robbers, a security guard at a nearby appliance shop had heard the gunshot and called up the police.

Police Officers 1 Paul Ryan and Rizaldy Garcia arrived as the four robbers were getting out of the house and running toward a black Starex van driven by an accomplice, leading to a shootout that led to the death of one of them.

As the remaining robbers reached the van, they continued firing shots. They hit teenager Diana Sea, who was in a jeepney, in the left shoulder.

The robbers also shot security guard Fred Mhar Pancho, then manning a nearby bank. Pancho was hit in the chest and was still in critical condition as of yesterday.

Pranada said the slain robber yielded P11,000 and three phones that were believed to be part of their loot. Police also recovered from him a .45 caliber pistol.

The other robbers were also said to be armed with handguns, while one of them carried an automatic submachine gun, he said. They reportedly headed toward Boni Serrano Avenue.

Pranada said they are reviewing footage of surveillance cameras in the area to get clues on the identities of the robbers.

The Starex van the robbers used only had a conduction sticker, whose complete alphanumeric digits were not properly noted by witnesses.