By LIWAY M. YPARRAGUIRRE

ASINGAN — The municipal assessor here wasshot dead by two motorcycle-riding men in front of her house Thursday aternoon.

The victim, Eugenia de Leon, 48, sustained a lone gunshot wound in the head from a .45 cal. pistol. She was pronounced dead on arrival by Dr. Caroline Mina of the Asingan Community Hospital where she was rushed after theincident.

Asingan Police Chief Fidel Drapeza said the motive for the killing could not be work-related. He said they are instead considering other angles, including family dispute.

De Leon was shot at 5:30 p.m. Thursday minutes after she stepped out of her house at Soloria St.,Poblacion East in this town.

The gunman shot the victim at close range and immediately ran to a motorcycle waiting behind him and fled towards Sta. Maria town.

“We were in front of the police station when we heard a gunshot. We responded and rushed to the site but the perpetrators had sped away,” said Drapeza.

He said they have a cartographicsketch of the gunman based on information given by witnesses.

He said the killers could have established a pattern of the daily activities of the victim including her going out of the house late afternoon so that they successfully carried out their plan to kill her.

He said the victim had earlier reported to him death threats she had been receiving and he had advised the victim to take extra precautions.

The victim owns a licensed gun, according to Drapeza. She also had a civilian bodyguard who owns a licensed firearm, he said.

“Lately however,Drapeza added, she (de Leon) had been seen coming out of her house late afternoons with her dog,” Drapeza added.

Residents and police authorities readily linked the killing to an earlier incident sometime last March when a man lobbed a grenade inside a water refill station that the victim owned.

No one was hurt at the time because the station employees managed to run out before the explosion.