2 motorbike theft suspects slain in shootout

Two suspected motorcycle thieves were killed in an alleged shootout with police in Quezon City before dawn yesterday.

The two men, each driving a motorcycle, refused to stop at a police checkpoint along Ma. Clara street. One of the men shot at the police officers, who gave chase and killed the suspects along Biak na Bato street at around 3 a.m.

One of the motorcycles carried license plate 6555 HY while the other was for registration and turned out to have been stolen from a police officer.

Police described the first suspect as between 25 and 30 years old, about 5’4” tall and with a star tattoo on his back. He suffered a gunshot wound in the chest and three more in the lower right side of his body.

The other suspect was shot in the right side of his face, twice on the right side of the body and once on the left leg, police said, describing him as between 30 and 35 years old, around 5’7” tall, with tattoos of a skull on his right hand, a devil on his right leg and an old man on his left leg.

One of the motorcycles the suspects used was stolen from Police Officer 1 Jan Jan Gatan of the Novaliches police station only hours before the shootout.

The suspects reportedly took the motorcycle while it was parked beside the barangay hall of Barangay Gulod at around 1 a.m.

Recovered at the crime scene were a 9mm Taurus handgun with 12 bullets, 15 fired 9mm shells and two slugs.

Police officers also recovered a black leather wallet containing Gatan’s identification cards from the belt bag of one of the suspects. –