MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) is set to file criminal complaints against the masterminds and two gunmen in the Nueva Ecija bus shooting incident on December 5 or 6.
Last November 15, a couple was shot four times in the head and neck while on board a Victory Liner bus traveling through the mountainous part of Barangay Minuli.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo opted not to name the suspects but revealed that the two gunmen could be part of a gun-for-hire group.
“Kausap ko yung provincial director this morning; based po sa initial document and assessment, by tomorrow sila magfi-file [ng kaso]. If not, pinaka-late na daw ang Wednesday,” Fajardo said in a press briefing on Monday.
(I talked with the provincial director of Nueva Ecija police this morning, and based on their initial documentation and assessment, they can file a case on Tuesday. If not, then by Wednesday at the latest.)
“Ang commitment ko nga po sainyo once makasampa ay ihaharap ko sila sainyo para ikwento po kung paano tayo humantong sa identification ng gunmen and masterminds,” she added.
(My commitment is once we file the case, we will present everything to you and give details on how we identified the gunmen and masterminds.)
Earlier, the PNP said the results of the ballistic examination conducted on three gun shells found inside the bus matched the three previous shooting incidents in Isabela and Nueva Ecija.
Police said these findings helped contribute to the identification of the masterminds and two gunmen.
Shortly after the shooting incident, the son of the female victim was eyed as a “person of interest” in the case, saying that they were involved in a conflict that had gotten to the point where she filed a carnapping lawsuit against her son.
Until now, the PNP did not disclose the nature of the conflict or the identities of the son and the victims.
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