Nueva Ecija bus shooting update: Female victim’s son eyed as ‘person of interest’

MANILA, Philippines — The son of the female victim in the bus shooting in Nueva Ecija is being eyed as a “person of interest” in the case, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The female victim and her live-in partner were shot dead by unidentified gunmen while in transit in the town of Carranglan on Wednesday afternoon.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the victims and the son were involved in a conflict that had gotten to a point where the female victim filed a carnapping case against her son.

The PNP official did not disclose the nature of the conflict or the identities of the son and the victims but confirmed that the latter were long-term live-in and business partners.

“Initial investigation showed that this is a possible motive since the conflict and the filing of the case between them happened before the incident. In fact, this is on the blotter, and the victim’s son is just out on bail,” Fajardo said in a mix of Filipino and English during a press briefing on Thursday.

“Investigators already talked to the son, but he said he knows nothing. On the part of Nueva Ecija police, they got information from the victim’s sibling, saying that there is an alleged threat that came from the son,” she added.

Fajardo added that the female victim was a resident of Cauayan, Isabela, while her partner was from Cotabato.

The PNP official assured that they are already backtracking CCTV installed in nearby areas to track the suspects.

Police are also not ruling out the possibility that the assailants are part of a gun-for-hire group based on how “professionally” they wielded their guns, she added.

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