3 Wounded, 1 Captured After Shootout at NLEX Bocaue Toll Plaza

Photo Courtesy of PRO 3 / Facebook

Three suspected robbers were wounded and captured following a high-stakes shootout with law enforcement along the southbound lane of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Bocaue Toll Plaza in Barangay Turo, Bocaue, Bulacan.

Dragnet Intercepts Syndicate at Tollway

Photo Courtesy of PNP / Facebook

The armed encounter erupted on Friday afternoon during a tactical dragnet and hot pursuit operation led by operatives of the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO-3). Intelligence teams had been actively backtracking the movements of a notorious organized robbery-holdup group linked to a string of recent minimart robberies across Magalang, Pampanga, and Victoria, Tarlac.

Coordinating directly with NLEX management, police positioned Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units to intercept the suspects’ getaway vehicle as it approached the toll barriers. Upon realizing they were cornered, the armed suspects allegedly opened fire on the responding officers, prompting police teams to return fire.

Casualties and Arrests

A brief but intense gun battle ensued at the toll plaza, which was captured on regional dashcam footage. According to PRO-3 Regional Director Brigadier General Jess B. Mendez, all three suspects inside the vehicle sustained gunshot wounds during the crossfire.

First aid responders from the NLEX medical team initially treated the wounded individuals at the scene. They were subsequently rushed to a nearby hospital under tight police custody to receive advanced medical treatment. No police officers or civilian commuters were reported injured in the firefight.

Deepening Investigation into Multi-Region Heists

According to Colonel Jay B. Baybayan, acting provincial director of the Bulacan Police Provincial Office, the arrested group is a highly active criminal syndicate. Investigators have already linked the group to at least 21 robbery-holdup cases traversing Central Luzon (Region III) and the CALABARZON region.

The Bulacan Police Provincial Office and Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) cordoned off the southbound toll plaza to process the scene, retrieve ballistics data, and catalog recovered evidence.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) issued a statement confirming that operations are ongoing to identify any remaining cohorts or networks tied to the syndicate. Higher management has urged the public to rely strictly on verified bulletins from official police channels while criminal investigators wrap up the processing of the site.