Police surprised six suspected armed robbers holed up in an abandoned apartment building in Hulu Klang early today and shot dead three of them after the gang attacked them with machetes and sickles.

Selangor CID chief Adnan Abdullah said the police raided the first floor of one of the Highland Towers buildings at about 5am after having been tipped off about the whereabouts of the robbers.

“During the raid, the robbers attacked the police with machetes and sickles. The police were forced to open fire in defence and shot dead three of the six men,” he told reporters at the scene.

The other three fled and the police have launched a hunt for them, he said.

Adnan said the dead suspected robbers, believed to be in their 30s, did not have any identification documents on them.

He also said that the police seized several machetes, sickles, air pistols, gloves, masks and screwdrivers.

The bodies were taken to the Ampang Hospital, he said.

Adnan said the police believe the gang had been involved in 26 robberies in several places, including Dengkil, Sepang, Gombak and Kajang, involving up to RM545,900.

- Bernama