Cop, jealous man grapple over grenade, hurt in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A police officer and another man were injured when they wrestled each other Tuesday morning over control of a grenade in Barangay Tetuan here.

Tetuan police station chief Supt. Hadjiri Langgal said Antonio Pioquinto dela Cruz, 57, was in the act of throwing a grenade into a judge, whose identity the police had withheld, when spotted by Senior Police Officer (SPO) 1 Osbert Fernando, also of the Tetuan police station.

“It started with a fight between him and his wife. He suspected that his wife and the judge were having an affair. Out of his anger, he tried to attack a judge,” Langgal said.

Fernando jumped on Dela Cruz and tried to get the grenade from the latter but unfortunately, the suspect had already removed the pin of the grenade and it went off, according to Langgal.

Langgal said both Fernando and Dela Cruz suffered from shrapnel wounds but were now in stable condition.

“Dela Cruz’s hand, I believe was severely damaged,” he added.            /kga