Student killed in Ilocos Norte grenade blast

A 20-year-old student was killed after detonating his own hand grenade inside a boarding house in Ilocos Norte on Monday afternoon, police authorities said. In a text message to reporters Tuesday, National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz identified the victim as one Billy Joel Vidal. An initial investigation showed that Vidal and four other fellow student boarders were having a drinking spree at a boarding house in Barangay Manayon in Bangui town when the explosion happened. "[Vidal] brought out a hand grenade and removed its pin causing it to explode," Cruz said. Vidal's four companions were wounded in the incident, he added. It was not immediately known how Vidal got hold of the grenade. — Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News