2 passengers shot dead in bus by 2 men in NE town

PNP probing murder 

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan 

CARRANGLAN, Nueva Ecija -- Police investigators are now backtracking the CCTV on the shooting incident where a man and a woman were gunned down by two unidentified suspects inside a Victory Liner bus here Wednesday, Nov. 15 around 12:50 noon, a police official said.
    Philippine National Police information chief and spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said Thursday police investigators are now investigating to identify if there are more than two men involved in the shooting incident.
    “Tinitingnan natin yan at napag-usapan nga namin kanina yan dahil tinanong ko nga from the time na sumakay ‘yung mga biktima doon sa terminal, ilan ba ‘yung nakasakay doon, ilan ba yung nakasabay nila at the fact na inabangan lamang sa Nueva Ecija ‘yung mga biktima natin at doon sila sumakay, there is a possibility na talagang alam ng mga suspects ‘yung movement ng ating mga biktima at alam na sumakay sila doon sa bus na yun (We are looking into that and we talked about it earlier because I asked from the time the victims boarded at the terminal, how many boarded there, how many were with them and the fact that they were only waiting in Nueva Ecija, there is a possibility that the suspects really know the movement of our victims and know that they boarded that bus),” Fajardo told reporters.
    Based on the police report, the bus was traversing a mountainous portion in Barangay Minuli in Carranglan town when two unidentified men, who pretended to be passengers, stood up from the back, walk towards the front and shot the victims, seated at the first row, six times in the head and neck.
    The victims who died on the spot were reportedly live-in partners. They were not unidentified.
    The gunmen got off the bus and fled through a nearby river.
    The incident was captured by the dash camera of the bus and has since gone viral.
    According to Fajardo, one of the victims' family who refused to be identified said the age of the female victim was 60 years old from Cauayan City, Isabela, and her live-in partner was around 55 years old from South Cotabato.
    She said police investigators are looking into the possible involvement of the son in the killing of his mother and her live-in partner.
    “Based on the initial investigation, we are looking into the son’s involvement because before this incident happened, the victim had a dispute with her son and in fact, it was recorded in a police station and her son is only on bail, Fajardo said in Tagalog.
    However, the son denied his involvement when interviewed by the investigators.
    Meanwhile, Fajardo said they are also looking into the possible involvement of the helper who brought the couple to the bus terminal.
    She said the PNP will coordinate with the transportation terminal management for the possible deployment of bus marshals and security dogs in public transportation to ensure the safety of the riding public. -- PNA