Police: 3 extort gang members killed in Rizal province shootout

At least three members of an extortion gang were killed in a running gun-battle with anti-kidnapping and police operatives in Rizal province early Saturday. Rizal police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Prieto said the suspects engaged authorities in a shootout in Macamot village in Binangonan town. "It was an extortion group trying to intimidate a victim. The three tried to shoot it out with authorities," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. Prieto said the suspects were cornered by elements of the Rizal provincial police, Binangonan police and the Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER). Citing initial reports, Prieto said responding authorities recovered from the suspects an undetermined amount of money. But he did not immediately identify the slain suspects, saying Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) teams were still at the scene of the encounter. — LBG, GMA News