A priest in the central Philippine city of Danao is in hot water after reportedly shooting a student with an air rifle yesterday. Father Jonathan Durano Lao, a priest at the Colegio de San Antonio de Padua, told police he was testing his new air rifle when it accidentally fired and hit Mark Robert Cecilio Ymbong. Ymbong, a 19-year-old criminology student, was hit in his left breast and was taken to hospital in Cebu City. However, a report by a policemen who attended the scene, said the priest shot Ymbong while he was trying to pick mangoes from a tree inside the school compound. “The parents don’t plan to file charges against the priest,” said Erson Digal of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, but authorities will charge him with “reckless imprudence resulting in frustrated homicide.” Father Lao is still in custody. The victim’s mother, 47-year-old Bernardita Ymbong, said the priest has already apologized to the family and promised to pay the hospital bills. Related reports Filipino priest suspended for alleged misconductFake priest arrested in central Philippines PV13231.1640