MetroBriefs

Restaurant hit by fire

A fire hit a restaurant at 2:05 p.m. Thursday on Jerusalem Street in Multinational Village, Parañaque City. Superintendent Manuel M. Manuel, city fire marshal, said a gas leak caused the blaze, which started in the kitchen of Sen-Lek Thai Noodles owned by Erol Lachica. “[It] had a very low ceiling which allowed the fast spread of [the flames],” Manuel added. The blaze reached the first alarm but was placed under control less than 30 minutes later. Arson investigators pegged the damage at P70,000.—Penelope P. Endozo

Cop kills guard

The police arrested Thursday a colleague who shot and killed a teenage security guard. Manila Police District  homicide section head Senior Inspector Joselito de Ocampo said that Police Officer 3 George Cortez, assigned at the MPD Traffic Enforcement Unit, denied the charge although witnesses positively identified him as the one who shot 19-year-old Neil Palaca outside the Shotgrills Beerhouse in Sampaloc, Manila, at 2 a.m. on Sunday. De Ocampo told the Inquirer that Cortez and Palaca were drinking at the beer house when the victim started singing and was praised by the policeman’s female companions for his ability to carry a tune. “He [Cortez] probably got jealous of the attention given by his female companions to the victim,” the police said.—Jeannette I. Andrade