Person of interest in bus shooting says issues were settled; seeks help to identify suspects

The individual tagged as the person of interest in the shooting incident inside a bus in Caranglan, Nueva Ecija said that the issues between him and the victim were already settled, according to the report of GMA Regional One North Central Luzon's Russel Simorio on "24 Oras" Friday.

The son of the female victim was tagged by the police as a person of interest noting the conflict between them.

The female victim filed a carnapping charge against her son, who later posted bail.

“Medyo malalim po yung naging alitan ng mag-ina maliban po dito sa alleged na pagfa-file ng kaso ng carnapping, but I'm not at liberty to discuss the other details para di po ma-compromise yung ongoing investigation,” Fajardo said on Thursday.

On the side of the son, he and his mother already forgave each other.

The lawyer of the son, Attorney Mark dela Peña, said is worried that he was tagged as a person of interest in the killing of his mother. 

“Nagwo-worry siya. Namatayan na siya ng nanay, tapos person-of-interest pa siya pero ipinaliwanag ko sa kanya na ito ay welcome development. Normal police investigation po ito,” said Dela Peña.

(He’s worrying. He already lost his mother, then he was named person-of-interest but I explained to him that this is a welcome development. This is a normal police investigation.)

"Magfa-file kami ng murder case laban dun sa mga perpetrators dahil nakita naman yung mukha nila," he added.

The son called on the public not to judge them but to help identify the gunmen.

This is the same call made by the victim's brother, who also called for help in identifying the mastermind behind the killings.

Meanwhile, the police office in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija where the shooting incident occurred sent personnel to Isabela where the family of the female victim resides.

The police also went to Nueva Vizcaya where the two suspects boarded the bus as part of efforts to identify the gunmen. The police are also working on enhancing the images of the suspects caught on the dashcam video and autopsy results. — Jiselle Casucian/BAP, GMA Integrated News