Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Mother, baby shot dead in San Pablo City

Dennis Datu

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — A mother and her child were having dinner inside their small rented home in Barangay San Gregorio, San Pablo City in Laguna Friday night when an unexpected visitor arrived—not bearing food, but bullets that ended their lives.</p><p>At around 8 p.m., 30-year-old Rhea Lunar was carrying her seven-month-old baby girl while eating dinner when an armed man suddenly entered and opened fire on them. </p><p>Rhea’s 58-year-old mother was also injured in the attack. </p><p>The baby was declared dead upon arrival in the hospital and Rhea died a few hours later. </p><p>Rhea sustained six gunshot wounds from a .45 caliber firearm, while her baby was hit three times. </p><p>Rhea&#x27;s mother is now in stable condition, and their helper was unharmed. </p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;text-align:center"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:671px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1954086818531750150&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-08-09T08%3A48%3A44.042613%3A7978b9a9-dfab-4bb5-b5a2-da49e912d434%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=52c73d0e6d88ef46e9d95e4cd8b464f7500c8a5d&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1954086818531750150" spellcheck="false"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>The victims’ family remains baffled as to who committed the murder.</p><p>“Wala naman ako maisip na kaaway, wala silang kaaway,” said Rhea’s brother, Renato Lunar.</p><p>“Sobrang sakit, sobrang hirap, mahal naming yung kapatid namin” he added.</p><p>Renato said his sister had only been renting the place for three months and had been selling pares in the same place for just eight days. </p><p>According to San Pablo City Police chief, Police Lt. Col. Redante Tiraña, the mother and child were the clear targets and the crime was premeditated.</p><p>“Ang target talaga dito ay yung mag-ina kasi yung lola ang tumama ay fragment na lang ng bala,” Tiraña said.</p><p>“Talagang sinubaybayan, plinano talaga ito ahead kasi pabalik-balik yung motor, kumuha pa ng tiyempo yung suspek natin,” he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/7/police-confirm-shooting-inside-nueva-ecija-school-1620">Shooting incident in Nueva Ecija school leaves 2 students critically injured</a></div><p>The gunman was described wearing a black jacket and black pants, while the lookout wore a black helmet, jacket, and pants. </p><p>Authorities recovered the unregistered motorcycle used in the crime in Brgy. San Joaquin.</p><p>“Bahala na ang Diyos sa gumawa, may karma din, kakarmahin din sila, ang Diyos ay hindi natutulog, nakatungo ang Diyos,” Rhea’s brother said.</p><p>The police are looking into two possible motives for the killing of the mother and child, though details remain undisclosed to avoid affecting the investigation. </p><p>The victims will be brought home to Brgy. Pulo, San Antonio, Quezon, where the wake will be held.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/8/aklan-vice-mayor-shot-dead-in-town-hall-1214">Aklan vice mayor shot dead in town hall</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable fr-active" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3T3ZeJxOA5U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" style="width:740px;height:360px"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>A mother and her child were having dinner inside their small rented home in Barangay San Gregorio, San Pablo City in Laguna Friday night when an unexpected visitor arrived—not bearing food, but bullets that ended their lives.</p>

A mother and her child were having dinner inside their small rented home in Barangay San Gregorio, San Pablo City in Laguna Friday night when an unexpected visitor arrived—not bearing food, but bullets that ended their lives.