Two members of an unofficial ‘street guardian’ group were slashed to death, while three others were wounded as they tried to stop a gang of thieves from stealing an expensive scooter in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday night.

The incident took place in front of a store on Cach Mang Thang Tam Street in Ward 10, District 3 at around 9:00 pm, involving five ‘street knights,’ people who voluntarily patrol their neighborhoods to detect and catch criminals, and four motorbike thieves, according to police.

The ‘street knights’ had been followed the gang of thieves from the nearby Tan Binh District when they saw them stopped in front of the store and started to steal an SH scooter parked there.

As the ‘street knights’ jumped in and besieged the thieves, the criminals managed to run away on two motorbikes. 

The thieves had been chased by the vigilantes for a few hundred meters, when they immediately stopped and took out different weapons to aggressively fight back.

As they are not recognized as authorized law enforcement officers, all ‘street guardians’ are not allowed to be armed for their own protection.

The thieves fatally slashed two ‘street knights’ and wounded three others before fleeing the scene.

The deceased were identified as Nguyen Hoang Nam, 29, a Ho Chi Minh City resident, and 42-year-old Nguyen Van Thoi, hailing from the south-central province of Binh Dinh.

The injured ‘street knights’ were immediately rushed to the hospital, with one of them being in a critical condition, according to officers.

One of the injured 'street knights' is seen at a hospital. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Ho Chi Minh City police have examined the scene of incident, performed autopsy and collected testimonies from eyewitnesses.

Police are still investigating the case.