Bus dashcam captures disturbing attack on sleeping passengers in Nueva Ecija

PAMPANGA, Philippines – In a disturbing video that surfaced and went viral on social media, two men in camouflage shorts halted a bus and shot two passengers in the front seat in Nueva Ecija on Wednesday, November 15. 

Two assailants, wearing caps and backpacks, were caught on the bus dashboard camera drawing their guns. One of them fired four shots at the sleeping passengers. 

The two victims were shot while asleep inside a bus traveling through a highland area in the south lane of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.

The victims, said to be a couple, were on a Victory Liner-owned bus heading from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province to Manila. 

The suspects shot the victims in the head and neck.

Nueva Ecija police chief Major Rey Ian Agliam told Bombo Radyo in Carranglan on Thursday, November 16, that one of the victims was a 60-year-old female from Cauayan City, and her male partner, aged 55, was from Koronadal in South Cotabato. Police declined to identify the victims as of posting time.

Initial police report showed that the victims boarded the bus in Nueva Vizcaya. It was unclear exactly where the suspects boarded.

In a video that has since gone viral, one of the suspects is seen firing four shots at the sleeping passengers. Both suspects wore camouflage shorts, caps, and black shirts, with one also donning black long sleeves and a backpack.

Following the shooting, the suspects instructed the bus driver to stop, and they disembarked along the Maharlika Highway in the village of Minuli.

The bus driver promptly proceeded to the nearest Community Police Assistance Center (COMPAC) in Barangay Joson to report the incident, where authorities promptly responded.

Rappler tried to reach Agliam via phone calls and text messages. However, they remained unanswered.

The police are now looking into persons of interest in connection with the fatal shootings.

Colonel Jean Fajardo, head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office, said investigators were looking into a dispute the female victim had with her son prior to the incident. 

Police said the mother had reported her son to the police, and accused him of carnapping. – with reports from Frank Cimatu/Rappler.com