Police investigators have identified a person of interest in Saturday’s highway ambush targeting Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof “Sammy Gambar” Macacua, according to an official progress report released Tuesday.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Erwin Garcia shared the third police progress report, which revealed that a local resident recognized one of five armed attackers positioned along the General Santos-Cotabato National Highway in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

In the report, Lt. Col. Brian A. Balite, chief of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station, stated that a resident whose identity is being withheld for security reasons recognized a suspect known by the alias “Nico.”

Police have designated Nico as a person of interest, though a motive has not yet been determined.

The report also cited that two minors living near the scene suffered trauma after witnessing the attack.

Hours before the incident, five men wearing camouflage pants and carrying long firearms took positions in dense grass and on elevated ground near a residence.

As Macacua’s convoy passed at approximately 4:45 p.m., the gunmen opened fire.

Law enforcement officials have classified the attack as a suspected election-related incident.

The Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region has formed Special Investigation Task Group ICM to track down the perpetrators. Maguindanao del Norte police director Col. George Bagundol is leading the task group.

Investigators recovered 81 shell casings from high-powered firearms at the scene, including 15 from a 5.56 mm rifle, five from a 7.62 mm rifle and 61 others undergoing laboratory testing.

Despite classifying the ambush as a suspected election incident, Garcia said the commission is not yet inclined to place Datu Odin Sinsuat under direct Comelec control, stressing that a single incident should not disrupt an otherwise peaceful regional transition.