A photojournalist, three of his relatives and another man were wounded after they were shot by four unidentified gunmen in Barangay Masambong, Quezon City on Thursday, June 29.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Masambong Station (PS 2) identified the victims as Joshua Abiad, 37, an online photographer of Remate; Renato Abiad, 41; Jeffrey Cao, 47; and three minors with ages four, six, and eight.
The QCPD said that Abiad and seven of his relatives were on board a silver Ford Everest travelling along Corumi Street near corner Gazan Street in Barangay Masambong at around 3:50 p.m. when the suspects appeared and fired shots at them.
The photojournalist sustained gunshot wounds in the body, according to a Facebook post of Presidential Task Force of Media Security Undersecretary Paul Gutierrez who cited the police report.
Cao, who was also in the area, was hit by a stray bullet during the incident, police said.
The victims were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The suspects were onboard a silver Toyota Vios and a Yamaha Mio motorcycle. They fled towards Del Monte Avenue.
Authorities recovered 14 fired cartridges of .45-caliber gun at the crime scene.
“Napag-alaman na si Abiad ay witness ng PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) at PNP (Philippine National Police) sa mga drug related na kaso (It was learned that Abiad is a witness of PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) and PNP (Philippine National Police) ) in drug-related cases,” Gutierrez said in the post.
The QCPD said a dragnet operation was launched to identify and locate the suspects.
Police also conducted follow-up investigation in Pulilan, Bulacan to find the lawful owner of the suspects vehicle.
The incident is still under investigation.