7 hurt in West Avenue grenade blast

Two men riding in tandem on a motorcycle threw a grenade at an car supply shop along West Avenue in Quezon City last night, wounding seven men, two of them in critical condition.

Police said the explosion occurred at around 7:15 p.m. at the Bridgestone Tire Dealer, owned by Nelson Miller.

Senior Superintendent Federico Laciste Jr., deputy director for operations of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said “because of the short distance (from where the grenade was thrown), most likely the suspects had a specific target.”

Senior Superintendent Neri Ilagan, chief of the QCPD-District Mobile Group, said those wounded in the blast were security guard Leo Cordova, Antonio Macapagay, Delfin Martin, Joel Ramos, Rico Gamboa, Angel Mallari, and a man identified only as Aldrin. Cordova and Macapagay were listed as in critical condition.

All the victims – three customers, three workers, and a security guard – were taken to the Capitol Medical Center.

Three vehicles were also damaged by the blast – a Honda Civic and an Isuzu Fuego pickup being serviced by the shop and a taxi driven by Fernando Saga.

“I was just passing by and my vehicle was already a few meters away from the shop when I heard the explosion and was shocked to see my right side window already shattered,” Saga said. “It was fortunate that I didn’t have a passenger at the time of the explosion.”

Laciste said they were still trying to determine the motive behind the attack. “Based on initial investigation, there was no business rivalry nor previous altercation involving the employees prior to the attack,” he said.

Laciste said they have established a dragnet all over the city to intercept the motorcycle-riding suspects. Witnesses failed to note the license plates of the motorcycle.