Police have identified one of the gunmen in the fatal shooting of a couple in Mexico, Pampanga on Saturday afternoon.
In the press briefing held at Camp Crame, Philippine National Police (PNP) Acting Public Information Office chief and spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said a witness surfaced who may be able to provide information on the suspected backrider.
However, the possible witness refused to provide further details, authorities said.
Reports said two suspects in a motorcycle shot the victims Arvin and Lerma Lulu, both online sellers, along Barangay Sto. Rosario in Mexico, Pampanga on Saturday.
According to Fajardo, there are two possible motives for the crime; business and personal reasons.
Reports said emergency responders from the Mexico municipal disaster risk reduction and management office transported the victims to the Mexico community hospital in Barangay San Carlos where they were declared dead on arrival.
The local police issued a flash alarm and launched dragnet operations across nearby municipalities. CCTV footage is also being reviewed for possible identification of the suspects, authorities said.
According to Alicia Dayrit Lulu, Arvin’s mother, the two met a client and were on their way home when the fatal shooting happened.
In a CCTV footage, the couple was seen riding in a black pick-up followed by a motorcycle.
Arriving in Barangay Sto. Rosario, the motorcycle stopped on the side of the road and the two men on it got off. The suspects reportedly walked to the pick-up truck where they opened fire on the two victims who were accompanied by 2 more passengers.
“We saw they’re already tailing the victims’ vehicle,” P/Lt. Col. Pearl Joy Gollayan, Mexico MPS chief, said.
Two passengers aboard the couple’s vehicle, their 6-year-old son and a cousin of Lerma, were not hurt, police said.
Authorities said a possible motive for the killing was related to business. “We are not dealing with a single motive, we are still looking at what the concrete motive is,” Gollaya added.
Police are also investigating the client that the couple met earlier. The families of the victims are calling for the suspects to surrender.
The police said they have persons of interest and are still pursuing the suspects.
Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo said he will give a P100,000 reward to individuals who can provide information about those involved in the killing.
In a statement, Garbo said that although the shooting happened in Mexico, Pampanga, the victims were both residents of their city.
