A woman was shot and killed in her car just hours after she told police that her ex-boyfriend had sexually assaulted her.
Yuan Yuan Lu had recently ended her relationship with Yujun Ren, 32. She said he attacked her while she was staying at his home in south Philadelphia last week. On Saturday, Lu went to the police and reported the assault. Her cousin, Natalie Truong, said Lu felt relieved after speaking up.
“’She told me how safe she felt, how much better she felt opening up and telling the cops her story,’” Truong told The Philadelphia Inquirer. But less than 12 hours later, everything changed.
Early Sunday morning, authorities say Ren got into his car and followed Lu as she drove home to Levittown, near Philadelphia. Detectives later reviewed Ring camera footage. The video, according to WPVI-TV, shows a car they believe belongs to Ren closely following Lu’s vehicle at 5:49 a.m.
Police said Ren tracked her down outside her home. Lu was sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. That is when, investigators say, Ren approached her and shot her. She was hit in the head and died at the scene.
A few hours later, Ren turned himself in to police. He came with an attorney and led officers to Lu’s body. When police arrived, they found her still sitting in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound to her head.
During questioning, Ren told police he was angry. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, he said Lu had said “hurtful things” to him and had taken their pets. He also claimed the shooting was an accident. He said he only meant to scare her by waving his gun and that it went off by mistake.
Ren’s aunt later gave police the 9mm handgun. Before her death, Lu had told officers that Ren carried the weapon everywhere. She said it made her afraid for her safety.
That same day, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Ren. He was charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime, and stalking.
District Attorney Joe Khan spoke about the case in a statement.
“’Today’s tragic event is a sobering reminder of the lethal nature of domestic violence. Thanks to the swift, coordinated response from the Bristol Township Police Department, the Middletown Township Police Department, and our Bucks County Detectives, we have successfully taken the defendant into custody and the community is safe,’” he said.
While the investigation moved quickly, Lu’s family and friends were left in shock.
Truong told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Lu grew up in a small village in south China. In 2009, she moved to the United States to build a better life. She worked hard to improve her English in school. Over time, she became confident and driven.
She started by cooking homemade Chinese food and selling it from food carts on local college campuses. Later, she worked at a bubble tea shop and also at a nursing home. That nursing home job is where she met Ren. They dated for about a year.
Even though Truong was close to her cousin, she said Lu did not talk much about her relationship with Ren.
Lu also loved her pets. She had a corgi named Dundun and a cat named Milk Cap. Friends say she enjoyed going to restaurants around Philadelphia to try new food. She was known for being bright and friendly. She often smiled, even when she was struggling inside.
Truong said Lu’s death felt unreal. “’We’re still processing a lot of it. It doesn’t feel real,’” she said.
She also shared that she wished police had more time to look into the reported sexual assault before the shooting happened.
After Lu’s death, Truong created a GoFundMe page to help the family. In the description, she explained that Lu’s father had returned to China months earlier to be with her mother and brother. Lu had been living without her immediate family nearby.
Truong said she had to call Lu’s parents and tell them what happened. “’Breaking this devastating news to her parents over the phone was heartbreaking, no parent should ever have to learn of their child’s death this way,’” she wrote.
She also described her cousin with love and sadness. “’Yuan Yuan was a bright, kind, and bubbly person who brought joy to everyone around her. She rarely showed her pain and didn’t want to burden others, choosing to struggle silently until it was too late.’”
