Grenade blast rocks carwash

A grenade was thrown at a carwash in Quezon City Wednesday night, with the police eyeing a possible land dispute to be behind the crime.

The resulting explosion created a crater 3.5 inches in diameter on the floor of the “24/7 Carwash” on Road 8 in Barangay Pagasa, said Inspector Arnulfo Franco, chief of the Explosives and Ordnance Division of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

 “The grenade landed at the kitchen of the shop and because of the blast, some kitchen utensils and equipment were destroyed,” Franco said in an interview.

Franco said no one was injured during the incident, which happened at around 8 p.m. Wednesday. He said no one saw who lobbed the grenade.

“They just heard something was rolling on the roof and it was immediately followed by an explosion,” Franco said.

Franco believes the grenade may have been thrown from behind the shop. “We conducted a post-blast inspection and based on the metal fragments we gathered, they were from an MK2 fragmentation hand grenade,” he added.

He said this type of explosive device could be fatal within a 20-meter radius because of the fragments that come off as a result of the blast.

The police have yet to pinpoint the suspects behind the explosion. However, Franco said the shop’s owner, airline employee Lito Aurigue, told police investigators that a neighbor has allegedly been claiming part of the land where the shop stands.

Superintendent Allan Parreño, commander of the QCPD-Station 2 said they will invite Aurigue and his neighbor for questioning. “We will also be talking with village officials for any information on the said dispute,” he said.

According to Parreño, it was the first time that such an incident happened at the shop and Aurigue did not receive any threats prior to Wednesday’s explosion. – Reinir Padua