Road rage? Abduction? Questions remain on EDSA ‘gun-toting’ incident

Police have yet to identify the vehicles involved in a supposed gun-toting incident and assault on EDSA.  The photo, which was posted by a witness Monday on Twitter, went viral.

The Mandaluyong City Police will seek the help of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) on Tuesday to identify the license plates of the photographed vehicles.

Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon, Mandaluyong City Police chief, told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview that his office would send a representative to the PNP ACG to get ‎copies of the photo and the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) that captured the tense moment.

The photo showed four armed men seemingly assaulting the driver of a sport utility vehicle while other cars surrounded the SUV.

When the photo surfaced on Twitter, there had been confusion on whose police unit should respond as the location where the incident happened was unclear.

But the concerned citizen who took a shot of the incident told INQUIRER.net that it happened between Edsa-Ortigas and Edsa-Santolan.

Masigon said they are hoping that‎ the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime unit would be able to enhance the photo and CCTV to identify the plate numbers of the vehicles involved.

“[It] would be a challenge for us because the shots in the CCTV only showed the top view of the traffic‎,” the Mandaluyong police chief said.

Once the ACG detects the plate numbers, he said the Mandaluyong Police will coordinate with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) ‎to determine the identities of the drivers or the owners of the vehicles.

Masigon said since they were the first unit to learn of the incident, they immediately sent police officers to the area.

However, when the police car from the Mandaluyong Police arrived in the area, the place was already cleared.

The speculations on what really happened were diverse. Some saw it as  a traffic altercation that led to road rage, a police operation, abduction, or even a shooting for a film.

A day after the photo went viral, Masigon said no complainants have surfaced so far.

For his part, ‎Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP Public Information Chief, said the PNP is still investigating the matter.

“We cannot comment until we determine what it really was,” Sindac added.

With report by Julliane Love De Jesus