ZAMBOANGA CITY – “I just wanted to avoid a confrontation.”
Thus said 60-year-old Oscar Palacio, an engineer who survived a gun attack in what was initially probed as a road rage incident at the intersection of Gov. Camins Ave. and Nuñez Extension here at dawn on Thursday, May 29.
A black SUV, the driver of which is now being hunted by police, was tailing Palacio’s pickup vehicle when Palacio allowed the driver to overtake to avoid a collision.
Palacio was surprised when the driver alighted from the vehicle and demanded that he, too, get out. The engineer sped away to avoid a confrontation.
Irked, the driver of the SUV fired shots at Palacio, hitting the right side of his vehicle.
Palacio continued to drive and reached the Divisoria police station where he recounted the incident to lawmen.
Authorities responded to the scene and discovered four empty 9mm shells in the area.
Investigators are currently treating the incident as a potential case of road rage, and are reviewing surveillance footage to identify and arrest the driver of the SUV.