MANILA, Philippines - Three persons died when unidentified assailants fired at them in Caloocan City at dawn yesterday.
Police identified the fatalities as Joseph Santiago, 32; Recon Tizon, 37, and Rainer Oliver Naranja, 36, all of Package 4, Barangay 176 in Bagong Silang.
They were playing the coin game cara y cruz at around 1:15 a.m. when a group of men arrived and opened fire, Senior Inspector Ilustre Mendoza, city police assistant chief for operations, said.
Tizon and Naranja died on the spot. Santiago was declared dead on arrival at the Dr. Jose Rodriguez Hospital.
An unidentified man was wounded in the attack.
Probers said they recovered eight .45-caliber shells at the scene.
Police said they have yet to establish if the deaths were related to illegal drugs.