Security Guard Shoots Neighbor Over Plants Blocking Driveway

A 40-year-old man in the Philippine province of Cebu fatally shot his neighbor during an argument over the road right of way, police said.

Security guard Anthony Roca Ternate confronted his neighbor, Nina Lumbad Cadungog, as the latter was doing laundry outside her home in the village of Purok Hilltop in Compostela's Canamucan community Monday morning, local newspaper Sun Star reported.

Ternate, who was accompanied by his wife Madelyn, complained about Cadungog's plants as they blocked his path every time he drove his motorcycle past his neighbor's residence, according to the outlet.

During the argument, Ternate grabbed a gun from his home and shot Cadungog.

The victim, who was shot three times in different parts of the body, died on the spot, a report by Cebu Daily News said.

Ternate fled the scene, and police were reportedly unable to find him during a hot-pursuit operation as it was later revealed that he was hiding in a mountain area of the village.

Authorities were then prompted to seek help from Canamucan community captain Ernie Lawas and Ternate's friends to encourage him to surrender.

Ternate later surrendered to the Compostela Police Station Monday evening and admitted to being the sole perpetrator of the crime after Madelyn was arrested for being an alleged conspirator in Cadungog’s killing.

"He surrendered because we arrested his wife. So when he knew about that, it led him to decide to surrender," Compostela police chief Lt. Samuel Negro said.

Ternate had shot Cadungog as she was "noisy" during their argument, the police chief was cited as saying in a more recent Sun Star report.

Ternate is currently detained at the Compostela Police Station and will be facing murder charges over the incident.

Meanwhile, Madelyn, who was initially considered an accessory to the crime as she allegedly did not stop her husband from shooting Cadungog, was released Tuesday after Ternate made an extra-judicial confession that claimed his wife had no involvement in the killing.

Authorities have yet to recover the .357 revolver Ternate used in the shooting, according to police.