Lady trader slain by gunman on ‘big bike’

A businesswoman was killed in an ambush as she was driving to her office Wednesday afternoon in Quezon City, in yet another attack perpetrated by a motorcycle-riding gunman.

Arlene Garcia, 39, was shot in the head while in her Chrysler Town & Country minivan at 3:53 p.m. on F. Manalo Bridge, Barangay Bagumbayan, in the Libis area, near the border with Pasig City. The woman was traveling alone, with two sacks of Christmas gifts among the items in her vehicle, police said.

A man on a “big bike” (or a big-engined motorcycle) shot Garcia with a .45-cal. pistol before speeding away. Her vehicle had a big dent on the front hood when investigators arrived at the scene, an indication that it hit another vehicle as the driver lost control.

“She was shot from the driver’s side, an indication that the assailant trailed her for some time,” said Insp. Elmer Monsalve, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s homicide section.

The motive for the killing remained to be established as the victim’s family maintained she had no known enemies, Monsalve said.

Garcia, a resident of Ortigas Center, Pasig City, was on her way to her company based in the same city, a trading firm reportedly dealing in weighing scales. She also reportedly rented out apartment units. Julie M. Aurelio