Police killed on Thursday, Oct. 14, six suspected robbers in a brief gun battle that stemmed when lawmen tried to catch them after being spotted near a gasoline station in Antipolo City in Rizal.

Brig. Gen. Alexander Tagum, director of the police's Highway Patrol Group (HPG), said his men and operatives of the Rizal Provincial Police Office were conducting an anti-criminality campaign in Antipolo City at around 1:30 a.m. when they chanced upon two motorcycle riding men who were apparently escorting a private vehicle near a gasoline station in Barangay San Jose.

While the policemen were about to check on them, some of the suspects allegedly opened fire at them before speeding off towards Baras town.

This resulted in car chase and running gun battle as the suspects allegedly fired several times at the pursuing cops.

Some of the policemen immediately set up a road block along the Marcos Highway. The presence of policemen on the suspect's escape route caused the rider to lose control of the motorcycle until it crashed.

But instead of surrendering, the two suspects allegedly fired at the policemen which resulted in the brief gun battle and eventually their death.

Four other occupants of a private vehicle were also killed in the ensuing firefight.

During the firefight, one of the policemen was hit. but was saved by the bulletproof vest he was wearing. He was on board a police car which was hit twice by the gunmen.

Tagum said his men were deployed in the area as early as Wednesday night after receiving intelligence reports about the activity of a carnapping and a robbery group.

The criminal group, according to the intelligence, was the same syndicate involved in robbery incidents in Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila and Rizal.