4 dead, 4 hurt from grenade blast in Negros Occidental town

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Four people were dead, including a barangay tanod and his two children, while his wife and their three other children were wounded following a grenade blast in their house at Barangay Limalima, Isabela town, Negros Occidental, at 12:05 a.m. yesterday.

Chief  Inspector Ramil Sarona, Isabela Police chief, identified the victims as barangay tanod Melvin Tanghiyan, 42, and his two children, Mary Nacelle, 13, and Karen, 4; and neighbor Reynaldo Domingo, 45, who allegedly brought the grenade to the victims' house.

According to Sarona, Karen died on the spot while her father Melvin and sibling Mary Nacelle were dead on arrival when brought to a hospital.

Injured were Marilou Tanghiyan, 37, wife of Melvin, and their three other children, aged three, eight and ten years old. They were also brought to a hospital due to shrapnel wounds.

Sarona said only one grenade exploded in the victims' house, contrary to the claims of Marilou, who insisted that two grenades went off.

Sarona said Domingo was drunk when he went to the victims' house to ask for help. Domingo first asked Melvin for a cloth to tie around the grenade, but it was accidentally unpinned and went off.

On the other hand, Marilou claimed otherwise. She alleged that Domingo's two sons were the ones who allegedly threw a grenade at their home. She further said Domingo dropped the grenade himself when he tried to escape, the blast of which tore his body into pieces.

Marilou, who sustained shrapnel wounds in the head, claimed that Domingo and his sons held a grudge against her husband after he sided with a barangay councilman, who has a rift with Domingo. (FREEMAN)