1 teen dead, 2 others hurt in gang war

MANILA, Philippines - A teenager was shot dead, while two other minors were wounded in what police suspect was a gang war in Taguig City shortly before midnight yesterday.

Jason Natividad, 18, of Central Bicutan died on the spot, while his companions – aged 16 and 14 – are undergoing treatment in a hospital for gunshot wounds.

Chief Inspector Jenny Tecson, chief of Southern Police District’s public information office, said the shooting took place along Enduria street in Barangay Central Bicutan at around 11 p.m.

City police chief Senior Superintendent Tomas Apolinario said they are eyeing a gang in Barangay Maharlika as suspects. The groups in Barangays Central and Maharlika are known to have been quarreling and attacking each other, he said. Witnesses to the shooting, however, have yet to surface.

“Even the victims cannot tell us who shot them,” Apolinario said over the phone, adding police visibility and their Oplan Kapkap, which involves conducting body searches of people suspected of bearing weapons, will be intensified in both areas to thwart possible retaliatory attacks.