Tondo village chief kills 1, hurts 2 over house key

MANILA, Philippines - A barangay chairman allegedly shot dead a man who argued with his father about a house key, wounding two others in the process in Tondo, Manila before dawn yesterday.

Senior Police Officer 2 Virgo Villareal said Erwin Catacutan, 40, chairman of Barangay 62, Zone 6 in Tondo’s first district, went to the house of Ramil Bautista, 39, on Mejorada street to confront him at around 1 a.m.

This led to a heated argument, during which Catacutan reportedly pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and shot Bautista, who suffered nine bullet wounds.

Marcela Rincoraya, 81, and her relative, Ephraim Mendoza – who lived in the same house as Bautista – were hit by stray bullets while they were sleeping.

Catacutan fled after the shooting and remains at large.