Stray bullets kill pedicab driver, wound barangay chief, boy in Manila

MANILA, Philippines – Stray bullets killed a pedicab driver and wounded a barangay chief and a 12-year-old at the height of clashes between gang members in Manila in the early hours of New Year's Day. At around 1:45 p.m., Edna Ramos, chief of Barangay 119 in Tondo, was in the barangay hall on Coral Street when she heard a commotion outside. As she was about to step out to check, stray pellets from a sumpak, an improvised shotgun, hit her on the chin, according investigators of the Manila Police District (MPD). Other barangay officials took her to the Mary Johnston for treatment. An hour later, another fight broke out between gangs at the corner of Dagonoy and Pasig Line Streets in Sta. Ana. A pedicab driver, 50-year-old Pablo Gallo was hit by stray pellets fired from a sumpak. He was declared dead on arrival at the Ospital ng Maynila. A 12-year old boy from Makati City was also hit by stray pellets. His name was withheld by police. The gang-related incidents happened as the MPD noted a low number of firecracker-related injuries in Manila hospitals at 131, of which 30 happened outside of the capital city. They were recorded because the victims sought treatment at Manila hospital, according to the MPD director, Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales. - GMANews.TV