MANILA -- The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has arrested the man allegedly behind the series of robberies and rapes in Quezon City Thursday.
The suspect, identified as Mark Soque, 29, was arrested near a mall in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.
Police officials believe that Soque was about to rob another establishment when he was arrested.
He was allegedly involved in a series of robbery cases involving at least eight establishments in the city.
Aside from theft, Soque allegedly raped the female staff in some of the establishments.
He also allegedly shot a Korean woman dead while robbing a coffee shop on Monday.
Recovered from the suspect were a grenade, a caliber .45 pistol, several sachets of suspected shabu, and his motorcycle.
The series of robberies started December 23, 2014 in a dermatological clinic in UP Village, followed by several other incidents involving a spa, a restaurant and a coffee shop.
On January 26, another coffee shop along Regalado Avenue in Fairview was robbed. The following day, a furniture shop along Katipunan Avenue was robbed, with one of its female employees raped.
In all the eight robbery incidents, the thief asked the victims to take off their clothes. They were also tied up and locked inside the restroom.
Authorities are also looking for Soque's accomplice.