By: Alexandria San Juan
Two people were declared dead while 11 others were injured yesterday morning after two rival gangs in Quezon City Jail engaged in a riot.
Quezon City Jail Warden Supt. Ermilito Moral identified the two casualties as Edmund Domondon and Hermano Alfredo.
Prior to the fray, members of the Bahala na Gang decided to bring Domondon to the jail infirmary after seeing him motionless on the second floor of an open “plaza” around 4 a.m.
While Domondon was being rushed to the infirmary, one of the inmates accidentally hit a pail of water which dripped into the first floor where members of Batang City Jail were resting.
Thinking that it was intentional, detainees on the first floor started throwing things at other inmates, triggering the fight.
Moral said in an interview that they had a hard time stopping the riot because the jail is crowded with more than 3,000 inmates inside.
“Normal naman ‘yung magkagulo pero ngayon na lang ulit ‘yung pinakamalakas kasi hindi na masyadong na-control dahil sa space at crowded sa loob,” Moral said.
The inmates were pacified by police forces and authorities of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology-Special Tactics and Response (BJMP-STAR).
Eleven inmates sustained minor injuries while trying to escape from the fight by jumping from the second floor to the first floor. Others were hit on the head by various things being thrown such as pieces of woods and stones.
Domondon was brought to the East Avenue Medical Center where he was declared dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, Alfredo succumbed to multiple stab wounds in different parts of the body before reaching the Quezon City General Hospital.