2 dead in road rage shooting

MANILA, Philippines - A jeepney driver and his conductor were shot dead Thursday night by motorcycle-riding men at the height of a verbal tussle over a minor traffic row in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Senior Superintendent Jonathan Miano, Rizal police director, immediately ordered the setting up of checkpoints along the route of withdrawal of the three gunmen following the killing of Jesus Diena, 48, and Glandy Prende, 27, but failed to intercept them.

Miano said a massive manhunt is ongoing for the three attackers.

A bystander, Maria Melita Gonzales, 54, was hit by a stray bullet and rushed to the nearby H-Ville Hospital.

Diena and Prende, who plied the Litex (Quezon City)-Rodriguez route, figured in a near-collision with the attackers’ unlicensed red motorcycle on T. Reyes Street in AmityVille Subdivision in Rodriguez town.

An altercation ensued, and moments later one of the motorcycle-riding men pulled out a handgun and fired at Diena and Prende, who were both declared dead on arrival at a hospital.