Boy tries to protect pa, gets shot

MANILA, Philippines - A 15-year-old high school student was shot after he tried to protect his father from three neighbors who reportedly attacked him in Navotas City Thursday.

Jared Phoenix dela Cruz sustained a gunshot wound in his left thigh when he and his older brother, 17-year-old Raj Dyran, tried to stop their neighbors from beating up their father, Randy, Senior Inspector Rogelio Viray said.

Viray identified the elder Dela Cruz’s alleged attackers as Jestoni Concepcion, Toni Rose Concepcion and Jeff Mendoza. He said Jestoni was the one who reportedly shot Jared, who was rushed to the nearby Tondo Medical Center.

Investigators are conducting a followup operation to arrest the suspects, whose motive for attacking the elder Dela Cruz has yet to determined.