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Chinese Diplomat and Husband Held Over Fatal Shooting in Filipino Restaurant

The victims were reportedly attending a birthday lunch at a popular Cebu restaurant when the shooting occurred.
Photo by Alan Tangcawan/AP

Two Chinese diplomats were killed and the Chinese consul general wounded in a shooting that reportedly took place during a birthday lunch at a Filipino restaurant, police said.

Authorities have detained a Chinese diplomat working at the Chinese consulate in Cebu City and her husband, who is the primary suspect in the shooting that occurred Wednesday, The South China Morning Post reported.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear. Waiters at the popular Lighthouse Restaurant in the central city of Cebu said they heard shouting from a private room but could not understand what the argument was about, police said.

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Gunshots rang out minutes later. The attendees were reportedly holding a birthday lunch, but it was not immediately known whose birthday was being celebrated.

Restaurant cashier Remedios Rivalde, 27, was in the restaurant but not in the room when the shooting happened.

"I dived under the counter and covered my ears," she told AFP. "Then there were other shots that followed."

Consul General Song Ronghua was rushed to the hospital and is in stable condition, authorities said. His male deputy, Sun Shen, was shot in the neck, and finance officer Li Hui, a woman, was shot in the head. Both died.

The Chinese suspect, Li Qing Liang, was arrested and his wife, Guo Jing, who works in the visa section, was held for questioning. Both have invoked diplomatic immunity after being taken into custody.

Police later recovered a .45 caliber gun at the scene.

Reuters contributed to this report.