I boarded a bus last week in order to head over to the Soyapango district to search for more clues for the work I am doing. The bus was jam packed of course as it was peak hours. Right beside me I had a police officer carrying a large rifle like the one shown in the picture. It’s normal to see all sorts of police units and the military to carry weapons at all times as a result of the high levels of insecurity in the country.

After a few minutes I started to feel something pressing against the lower part of my leg, just below my knee. I looked down and it was the head of the assault rifle the police officer was handling.

I believe it’s the first time I ever feel a gun being pointed at me, though this time it was unwittingly, luckily . I thought, ‘what the fuck!!’ What if the police officer shoots the rifle by mistake? It was pretty shocking to be honest…