ZAMBOANGA CITY, 25 September 2005 — Three people were killed and eight others were injured in a grenade explosion as two groups of teenagers fought during a dance party in the southern province of North Cotabato, officials said yesterday.
Police arrested a man named Leo Sayduque, who reportedly exploded the grenade in anger after he was hit by a stone during the melee.
Chief Superintendent Danilo Mangila, the regional police chief, said the suspect, who was drunk, was a retired army sergeant. Police said the explosion occurred during a public dance party before midnight in the town of Pigkawayan.
Carlos Bautista, a spokesman for provincial governor Emmanuel Piñol, earlier said Sayduque was told to leave the party after his group engaged teenagers in a heated argument. He said the blast occurred after the man had left.
North Cotabato is about 900 kilometers (565 miles) south of Manila on the main southern island of Mindanao, where there are many illegal firearms and other weapons. (With AP report)
