Armed men point guns at car on EDSA; photo taken by witness goes viral

This hurriedly taken eyewitness photo shows armed men surrounding a vehicle along EDSA mid-afternoon of Monday, Sept, 1.

A female motorist took a photo of a chilling incident that occurred on Monday, mid-afternoon, along the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).

The picture, which has since gone viral, shows a group of armed men pointing their weapons at a car along EDSA. The men presumably alighted from their own vehicles – one car, an SUV, a van, and a motorcycle – which they had used to cut-off and corner the white vehicle; described by another witness as a Fortuner.

The incident has yet to be by explained by authorities

According to the witness, the situation occurred yesterday at around “2:45 pm, near Shell San Juan going to Ortigas.” Traffic had slowed down, which she thought was on account of the daily commute along one of the country’s major thoroughfares.

But closer examination revealed otherwise.

In a phone interview with reporters from Yahoo Philippines, the witness said: “I thought it was just traffic and I went a little bit out…I wasn’t sure what was happening but I went on ahead. I’m honestly not sure what happened. But I know there are guns and they cornered one car,” she said adding that there was also a man on board a motorcycle with the armed men.

She likewise noted that all the other vehicles on the road just drove by the scene, probably out of fear. She hurriedly took a photo, and drove off, as well, fearful of being involved in the conflict.

“I’m too scared to look,” she said.

Officials from the Mandaluyong Police station – the precinct with jurisdiction over the area – informed reporters that policemen were dispatched to the site. The Philippine National Police, however, has yet to issue an official statement about the situation.

On the other hand, Mandaluyong Traffic Operations Center (TOC) said that they received an incident report, but found nothing when they got to the area.

Meanwhile, an account from another female netizen who claimed that she also witnessed incident has surfaced online. Apart from the standoff, the woman alleged that there was an exchange of gunfire, and that the armed men “took the passengers in the Fortuner.”

Some concerned citizens have suggested that it may have been an undercover operation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Though Yahoo Philippines reported that, as of Tuesday morning, a high-ranking official of the bureau could not confirm if the incident was, in fact, an NBU directive.