4 dead, 11 hurt in Tondo grenade blast

A hand grenade exploded in a scuffle during a drinking session at the Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila yesterday, leaving four people dead and 11 others wounded.

Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong identified the fatalities as Eugene Candelaza, Alez Lanioja, Randy Gallos, and a certain Toto.

Initial investigation showed that Candelaza, Lanioja, and Toto confronted Gallos’ group, who were engaged in a drinking session at the squatter compound.

Police said Candelaza and his companions were irked by the noise made by Gallos and his friends as they sang while drinking.

Armed with a gun and grenades, Candelaza’s group confronted Gallos and his band of merrymakers.

This sparked a brawl as the men tried to grapple for the weapons.

A grenade fell and exploded, killing the four men and wounding 11 others, including children playing nearby on a narrow dirt alley.

They were all taken to the nearby Gat Andres Hospital.

Responding scene of the crime officers said they have yet to determine the type of grenade thatexploded.

Superintendent Rolando Miranda, chief of Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said they have gathered fragments of the grenade.

Police said they would track down relatives of Candelaza, who reportedly took the handgun .

"We will continue to investigate this case. But based on the initial reports, the suspects were the ones killed so we don’t know who else could be held liable," Miranda said. – With AP