Man shoots ‘burglar,’ hits son

MANILA, Philippines - Thinking that a burglar was in his house, a man shot his son by mistake in Valenzuela City Thursday morning.

Noel Antonio Liwag and his wife were sleeping in their room when they were awakened by the sound of someone walking on the top floor at around 4:30 a.m., investigators said.

The couple reportedly raised an alarm, but they continued to hear footsteps, prompting Liwag to get his gun and go upstairs.

At the dimly lit steps leading to the top floor, Liwag reportedly saw a shadow. He asked the intruder who he was, but received no response.

Believing he was in danger, Liwag shot at the man and was about to fire again when his 30-year-old son, Mark Francis, shouted, “Pa, bakit mo ako binaril (Pa, why did you shoot me)?”

Mark Francis, a call center agent, suffered a gunshot wound in the abdomen.

Liwag fled after taking his son to the Our Lady of Fatima University Hospital. Police officers said they are searching for Liwag, who was charged with frustrated parricide.