Eight unidentified men raided a merchandising shop, overpowering security guards in a daring rush hour robbery in Bacolod City last night.

The police said the suspects managed to take 40 cellphones within five minutes from Unitop Merchandising at Gonzaga Street , in Bacolod , despite the rush hour crowd at about 7:30 p.m. yesterday.

Police Station 1 commander, Chief Inspector Noel Manaay, said they are still probing how they did it.

The two security guards of the outfit, Robert Antonio, 37, and Angelito Romales, 21, told the DAILY STAR in a telephone interview that they were surprised by the suspects who were armed with knives, at the entrance of the store.

No estimate of the cost of the cellphones taken was available as of press time last night.

Manaay said four of the men held the guards while their companions took the items from shelves as employees and customers looked on.

He added that Antonio and Romales were apparently facing the store as the suspects approached them from behind.

He said they are investigating further how the robbery could have taken place despite the presence of many people, who included sidewalk vendors just outside the establishment.

Manaay said the guards could have at least put up some resistance or shouted for help.

He also noted that the employees only reported the incident 20 minutes later.

Manaay, who said teenage gangs could have been responsible, added that they were patrolling around the downtown area at the time.*PP

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