Masbate City grenade blast wounds 2

NAGA CITY, Philippines—A grenade exploded just outside a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) in Masbate City before dawn on Sunday, wounding two people, police said.

The bank’s security guard, Ian Irene, 33, and a scavenger, Charlie Basas, 53, suffered injuries from shrapnel of the exploding grenade thrown by a motorcycle-riding man in front of the bank located on Quezon Street, Barangay Centro, Masbate City, at 2:51 a.m. on Sunday, said PO3 Zandro Cabintoy, public information officer of Masbate Provincial Police Office.

Damage

PO2 Ian Mark Antiporda, the case investigator of the Masbate City police, said Irene was wounded in the right knee while Basas, who was foraging through a garbage pile near the bank when the explosion happened, was slightly wounded at the right eyebrow.

Cabintoy said the explosion also slightly damaged a Toyota Adventure, a Toyota Rav-4 and an armored vehicle parked in front of the bank. The bank’s main entrance’s galvanized roll-up door was also damaged by the blast, he added.

Cabintoy said a certain Noel Ytac, a tricycle driver, reported the incident to the police and also assisted in taking the victims to Masbate Provincial Hospital, also located in the city.

Unidentified

Quoting Irene’s statement, Antiporda said the grenade thrower was riding a black Kawasaki Rouser motorcycle and could not be identified as he was wearing a full-face helmet and a black jacket.

Antiporda said some pieces of grenade shrapnel recovered from the scene had been brought to the Masbate Police Crime Laboratory for examination. Shiena M. Barrameda, Inquirer Southern Luzon

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