Funeral attendants take out the body of Ruben Genterone who died of a rifle grenade blast in Sitio Tambisan, Barangay Tisa, Cebu City. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
CEBU CITY–A 32-year-old motorcycle-for-hire driver was killed after a rifle grenade he found on a vacant lot exploded past 9 a.m. in Sitio Tambisan, Barangay Tisa in Cebu City.
Ruben Genterone didn’t know what he found was a grenade, according to his mother Loreta.
She said she saw her son bringing a piece of metal that appears to be a flashlight.
“Maybe, he wanted to sell it in the junkshop,” the 69-year-old mother said in an interview.
She said the victim scratched the piece of metal using his fingers before leaving their residence. After a few minutes, Loreta heard a loud explosion.
She was then informed by neighbors that the piece of metal her son was bringing exploded.
Ruben lost both his arms while his internal organs were scattered near his body.
SPO4 Alex Dacua of the Cebu City Police Office’s Homicide Division said a rifle grenade detonates usually 30 seconds after the pin is removed.
“There’s a possibility that the grenade’s pin was removed,” he said.
Dacua said the explosion was an isolated case and has nothing to do with terrorists.