Pavia shooting kills woman, injures co-worker

By Jennifer P. Rendon

A 32-year-old woman was killed, while her 28-year-old co-worker was injured after a still-unidentified gunman repeatedly shot them early in the evening of April 14 in Pavia, Iloilo.

Police identified the victims only by their aliases, Divine, 32, of Zone 2, Barangay San Juan, Molo, Iloilo City, and Shane, 28, of Barangay Barasan Este, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

Both victims worked at the Goldilocks manufacturing facility of Earth Grain Inc. in Pavia.

Divine was the plant manager, while Shane worked as a human resources officer.

Police said the victims were walking from their workplace to a nearby mall in Barangay Ungka at about 7:40 p.m. when the shooting happened.

The gunman, who was riding a motorcycle, opened fire on the two women before fleeing toward Barangay Aganan, Pavia.

Divine and Shane were rushed to Medical City Iloilo for treatment.

Divine died at about 9:32 p.m. while undergoing treatment.

A relative claimed that one of the victims managed to video call her father to ask for help after they were shot.

Lt. Gary Tayongtong, deputy chief of the Pavia police, said investigators were still verifying whether the gunman had a companion.

He said closed-circuit television footage showed the two women walking casually while the suspect remained on board his parked motorcycle.

The suspect allegedly let the victims pass before getting off the motorcycle and repeatedly shooting them from behind.

Tayongtong said police were looking into all possible angles behind the attack, including whether the motive was work-related, tied to an old grudge or linked to a love triangle.

“We’re considering the motive that it’s work-related, old grudges or love triangle,” he said.

There were also reports that one of the two victims is a lesbian.

Tayongtong said either or both of the women could have been the intended target.