Cops eye Martilyo Gang behind deadly Manila jewelry store heist

Police are eyeing the Martilyo Gang behind a brazen jewelry store heist in downtown Manila Thursday afternoon, where at least three people were killed and nine were wounded. Manila Police District investigators said the modus operandi of the group involved in Thursday's incident bore similarities to that used by the gang, which gained notoriety for using hammers to smash glass display cases during robbery.
At least one of the suspects is being held for questioning following his arrest shortly after the heist, according to a report by radio dzBB's Carlo Mateo Killed in Thursday's incident was a security guard from a nearby establishment who tried to stop the fleeing robbers, and at least two of the suspects. The report cited an update from the Manila Police District Homicide Section initially identifying the slain guard as Danny Orbe; and one of the slain suspects as Allan Macatimbel. Nine people were injured, including two women who were wounded when the suspects hurled a grenade at pursuing police teams. They included:

• Adriano Silverio Jr., who sustained a gunshot wound in the forehead and eye
• Tiburcio Silverio, gunshot wound in the leg
• Jerome Silverio, gunshot wound in the leg
• George Pascua, gunshot wound
• Juvy de Guzman, grenade blast wound
• Joanna Ong, grenade blast wound
• Evelyn Merculio, grenade blast wound
• Maricel Atendido, grenade blast wound
• Paraluman Tredino, grenade blast wound

Arrested and now undergoing questioning is Bashir Pahilon, 31. The dzBB report cited initial information showing the incident occurred after 4 p.m., when at least eight men robbed a jewelry store near the corner of C.M. Recto Avenue and Rizal Avenue in Manila. While inside the shop, they reportedly shot and wounded the establishment's owners. As they were fleeing, security guard Orbe tried to stop them but the suspects shot him. Police managed to catch up with the suspects, and a shootout ensued. During the exchange of fire, one of the suspects was killed while another was wounded but was declared dead upon arrival at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center. During the firefight, the suspects hurled a grenade which exploded and injured two women. Police recovered from the incident scene eight shells of a cal-.45 pistol, and a hammer, as well as the suspects' belongings, the report said. — LBG, GMA News