4 dead, 4 hurt after rifle grenade blast in Isabela - PNP

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Four people, three of them children, died while four others were wounded after a rifle grenade exploded in Roxas, Isabela on Sunday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Tuesday.

“In a residential area in Roxas, Isabela, some children were playing, around seven of them playing in the area,” PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Allen Rae Co said at a press briefing.

“At ‘yung isa po ay merong nakitang isang bagay na dinampot niya. ‘Yun na nga, another tragic incident. It turned out to be a rifle grenade at ito po ay sumabog,” he added.

(One of them saw an object and he picked it up. This is another tragic incident. It turned out to be a rifle grenade and it exploded.)

The incident occurred at around 9 a.m. in Purok Raniag, Barangay Sinamar, according to the Roxas Municipal Police Station.

Police said most of the victims were children who were playing in the area. One of them reportedly picked up an unidentified object from a small canal.

One of the fatalities, identified only as “JM,”an eight-year-old Grade 3 pupil, died at the scene.

Another victim, 85-year-old Gloria Jabonitalla, was walking nearby when the blast occurred. She was brought to Manuel A. Roxas District Hospital where she passed away.

Two other children, alias “JY,” 8, a Grade 3 pupil, and alias “Eman,” 10, a Grade 5 pupil, were brought to Health City Medical Center but were also declared dead.

Four other children with aliases “CJ,” 10; “PJ,” 5; “AP,” 9; and “JJ,” 8 were wounded and were reported to be in stable condition. They were brought to different hospitals for treatment.

According to a witness, he saw “JM” holding and playing with an unidentified object and hitting it with a stone. The said object suddenly exploded.

Another witness said she was walking to attend religious worship at the Assembly of God Church with her grandmother, Gloria,when she heard a loud explosion from behind them.

When she looked back, she saw her grandmother and several children with various injuries and immediately sought help.

The Women and Children Protection Desk was directed to interview the child witnesses in the presence of their parents to determine the source of the rifle grenade and how it was obtained.

The Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 2 was also ordered to check whether the minor victim had social media accounts or was involved in other online platforms or games. —RF, GMA News