Drug surrenderer killed, 12-year-old son hurt in Quezon ambush

LUCENA CITY, Quezon – A drug surrenderer was shot dead while his son was wounded in an ambush in Sariaya town in Quezon province late Wednesday, police said Thursday.

Supt. Hermogenes Cabe, Sariaya police chief, said Donato Carandang Rico, 45 and his son Ben, 12, were going home aboard their tricycle when two unidentified gunmen walking from opposite direction fired at them in Barangay (village) Castañas around 9:30 p.m.

Police said Rico, who was seated at the back of the motorcycle being driven by his son, jumped out of the vehicle after the initial volley of gunfire. The son, who was hit in his hand and waist, was still able to drive the motorcycle home and call for help.

Residents rushed the two to Lucena United Doctors Hospital and Medical Center in Lucena City. The elder Rico later died from fatal bullet wounds.

Police said the victim earlier surrendered to authorities in the government’s war on illegal drugs.