Cebu City police to probe alleged ‘injection attack’ on jeepney passengers

Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO)

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Police here will be looking deeper into alleged “injection” attacks on jeepney passengers around Cebu City.

This after a social media post went viral about a man allegedly using a needle and a syringe to inject something into jeepney passengers.

Screenshots of the conversation about the warnings were first uploaded by a certain Janelle Estrera on social media, which went viral after netizens shared it, worried for the safety of their friends and family.

“Pagbantay mo diha dapit sa Emall, kanang atbang Penshoppe diha dapit sa One Central naay laki nga nag dress ug purple nya nagdala ug injection while nag sakay kos jeep naa ko sa front seat naay laki nga nag dress nag hata2 ug duol nako nya naay dala nga injection. Kuyawan kayko kay basin nyag injectionan ko maygani dali kaayo naka-andar ang jeep naka shagit nalang kog mama. Amping mo guys especially students,” the post read.

Since this post can cause alarm to the public, police in Cebu City assured that they are looking into the matter in order to send out the needed response.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Janette Rafter, Deputy Director for Operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) told reporters that they will be verifying if the incidents from the post were true.

“As of now, giverify nato kay naa man sad mga different people murag lain lain nga tawo nag-post pud,” she said.

Rafter added that in order to find out what truly happened, they are also reaching out to the person who posted the screenshots first to relay to the police any information they might have.

“Amo na gi-try og reach out kay basin naa siyay kahibal-an kung kinsa gyud ning mga tawo nga nabiktima. Mas maayo gyud og makig-coordinate pud siya sa atong kapulisan but as of now, murag wa pa daw nagreply,” she said.

Finding original uploader

Rafter added that they will be giving the person who posted it time to reach out to the police as she might still be scared as of this time.

But she pleaded to Estrera to come to the police to share any information she might have on the alleged incident so that they can provide the assistance needed to ensure everyone’s safety.

Rafter also added that they are coordinating with the Anti-Cybercrime group to find out the real identity of the owner of the original post.

As of this writing, Rafter said that they will continue to investigate and that they will also be placing more police personnel in the area to monitor the situation.

“Atong padaganon diha ang atong kapulisan ug magbutang pud kita og mga covert nato nga police pud,” she stated.

Report to police first

Rafter, meanwhile, advised netizens to report to the authorities crime incidents they may have witnessed or experienced instead of posting on social media first to avoid unnecessary panic.

“So ang among ihangyo, sa mga nagpost-post gani, especially kanang maka-alarma gani nga panghitabo…mas maayo unta og ila na idunol or iduol sa atong mga kapulisan para mahatag gyud ang sakto nga atensyon. Ma-imbestigahan nato ug ato matigaan ug sakto nato nga responde,” she said.

Rafter said that they have yet to receive any blotter on this alleged incident of perpetrators injecting something into victims while out in public.

However, she added that if they find that the incidents were false and were only shared to create panic amongst the public, they will be taking legal action against the individual responsible for the social media post.

/bmjo

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