Police, Anti-Drug Agents Figure in Shootout in QC, Casualties Reported

(UPDATE) Police and anti-drug agents figured in a shootout in Quezon City late on Wednesday, resulting in casualties, authorities said.

Details of the encounter were not immediately clear, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency operatives were on a legitimate buy-bust that was coordinated with the police, PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon told GMA News TV.

"What we know is napa-enkwentro ang ating tropa. Yun lang po," he said. Carreon refused to call it a misencounter pending an investigation.

The gunfight near the Ever Gotesco shopping mall snarled traffic on Commonwealth Avenue, authorities said. The mall management said it was ensuring the safety of shoppers with all access points secured. 

The MMDA said traffic on Commonwealth eastbound fronting the mall was at full stop and a zipper lane was opened on the westbound lane of the highway.