Saturday, September 15, 2012

Grenade blast, gunbattle hits upscale Philippine mall


MANILA (AFP) - One person was killed and seven others wounded on Friday when a grenade blast and a gunbattle rocked an upscale shopping mall in a suburb of the Philippine capital, police said. The blast and shoot-out were believed to be part of a failed attempt to rob an armoured car delivering cash to the Alabang Town Centre mall, on the outskirts of Manila. Armed men first hurled a grenade that exploded in front of a bank, wounding five customers. They then opened fire on mall security guards, said Mr Ernesto Arroyo, an Alabang police officer. In the ensuing firefight, one of the armed men was killed and two security guards were wounded before the other gunmen fled the scene, Mr Arroyo added.