A 60-year-old Asian woman was shot and killed in a 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon robbery near Laney College, and Oakland councilmembers are decrying a spike in violence in the Little Saigon neighborhood.
It was just a month ago when 52-year-old Oakland Uber driver Kon Woo Fung was shot and killed in his car in Oakland's Little Saigon neighborhood in an apparent robbery attempt. A similar fatal shooting Sunday is drawing unfortunate comparisons, and community outrage, as the Chronicle reports a 60-year-old Asian woman was fatally shot just about 12 blocks away from where Fung was shot, again in an attempted robbery, this one on Sunday afternoon.
An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We will bring justice to the victim and her family and ensure everyone understands that this activity will not be tolerated in Oakland, https://t.co/2I0eupfavK
— Loren Taylor (@lorenmtaylor) August 22, 2022
KRON4 has a statement from Oakland police. “The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is investigating a homicide that occurred on August 21, 2022, just after 2:00 PM,” according to that statement. “OPD Patrol Officers responded to the 1000 block of 5th Avenue regarding a shooting. Upon officers’ arrival, they located a female victim with apparent gunshot wound(s). The victim was transported to an area hospital for medical treatment where she succumbed to her wound(s) and was pronounced deceased.”
This is Lili Xu. She just celebrated her 60th birthday a couple weeks ago.
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) August 22, 2022
Her longtime partner told me they were about to get a massage in Little Saigon yesterday afternoon.
They never made it to the appointment. She was shot multiple times and killed outside. #StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/52y4jkE5rK
Update, 5:18 p.m.: KTVU has identified the victim as Oakland Chinatown dentist Dr. Lili Xu. Xu had a dental practice in both Oakland and Castro Valley.
I am outraged and sickened over the senseless, brutal slaying of an elderly Asian woman in broad daylight this afternoon in Oakland’s Little Saigon.
— Nikki Fortunato Bas, Council President, Oakland 勵琪 (@nikki4oakland) August 22, 2022
People who perpetrate these violent crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice. https://t.co/s3X0xEApp4
Several Oakland councilmembers spoke up on Twitter to condemn the recent violence against Asian seniors. The district's council representative Nikki Fortunado Bas said in a subsequent tweet to the thread above, “What does it say about our community when we cannot walk down our own street, visit a neighbor, or enjoy a picnic on the Lake on a Sunday afternoon? We can/must do better.”
The Little Saigon area has seen a serious spike in robberies and shootings this year. “Little Saigon, located in the Eastlake neighborhood around International Boulevard and East 12th Street, experienced a 10% increase in robberies between July 2021 and July 2022, from 42 to 46,” according to the Chronicle. “The neighborhood also had a 33% increase in shootings in the same time period, rising from 18 to 24. There was also a 50% increase in aggravated assaults in the same time period — from eight to 12.”
KTVU’s reports adds there was another killing reported Sunday in Oakland, not far from the Oakland Zoo. That appears to be unrelated, where a body was found in the trunk of a car.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s incidents is asked to contact the OPD Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821, or the tip line at (510) 238-7950.
Image: Google Street View
