5 hurt in armored van heist

Five security guards were wounded when at least eight armed men robbed an armored van in front of a Banco de Oro branch at the SM Southmall in Las Piñas City at noon yesterday.

Police Officer 2 Crisando Calatay, case investigator, said mall guards and armored van escorts belonging to Sanai Security Agency were hurt in the three-minute heist. They were identified as Richard Boncada, Elmer Darag, Joseas Paningbatan, Rodel Alambra and Aguido Gono. Two of them are in critical condition.

Las Piñas Police chief Superintendent Perpetuo Sanson said the suspects fled the scene with two bags. It could have been three, but security guard Jerry Pelayo shot and wounded one of the suspects.

"Pelayo fired his firearm and hit one of the suspects in the back, prompting the latter to drop the bag he was holding," he added.

Sanson has coordinated with the Bacoor, Cavite and Laguna police, requesting them to check hospitals that may have received patients with bullet wounds.

Bank officials refused to divulge to authorities the amount lost in the heist.

Initial investigation revealed that at 12:30 p.m., an armored van parked near the exit was waiting for security escorts carrying bags of cash from the bank when three men armed with short firearms opened fire at them.

"The suspects were waiting for us at the staircase that led to the basement. We are trying to find out how the suspects were able to enter the mall with their weapons," Sanson said.

The SM Southmall is the biggest mall in Las Piñas. This is the first time that the mall has been robbed. The bank is located inside the mall.

Sanson stressed the police have not been complacent . "We have officers conducting daily bank inspections. We remind bank security guards to be on alert against robbers and bomb scares," he said.

Apart from the three men inside the mall, there were about five other suspects, armed with caliber .45 pistol and 9 mm pistols as well as Armalite rifles who were waiting outside the bank.

Luckily, no shoppers were injured in the exchange of gunfire. The bank’s glass door was damaged when it was hit by bullets.

During the firefight, the suspects grabbed the two bags and their wounded companion then boarded a green Mitsubishi L-300 van (PKT-514). The van was later abandoned along Love street in St. Joseph Subdivision, Barangay Almanza 1. The suspects were seen boarding a white Kia van.

Las Piñas police have already traced the owner of the van, but has yet to verify if the vehicle had been reported missing.

They refused to divulge the name of the owner except that it was a female and a resident of BF Homes, Las Piñas.

Sanson said he believes the perpetrators studied the routine of the bank and the armored car for about a month before pulling off the heist.

A bank official told police they have been careful and employed various schedules for the arrival of the armored van.