|
I live in St. Paul; this is from our newspaper of Nov. 23rd:
Suspect's alleged actions at odds with reputation
But report accuses him of gun threat in 2001
BY TODD NELSON and CHARLES LASZEWSKI
Pioneer Press
The St. Paul man suspected of killing six Wisconsin hunters in a weekend shooting rampage has been accused of brandishing a weapon before, allegedly threatening his wife with a handgun during a family dispute nearly three years ago.
The image of Chai Soua Vang emerging from police reports differs with the man neighbors and acquaintances say they knew — a clean-cut truck driver who played soccer regularly, kept roosters in his garage and was an avid hunter.
"The few times that I saw him, he was a pretty easygoing person," Hmong activist Michael Yang, who recognized Chai Soua Vang from St. Paul's soccer fields, said Monday. "I never thought that he would be this kind of person. I can't say that I was detecting that from him at all. We're not sure what happened."
Representatives of community groups met Monday to plan their response, concerned in part that the incident would stoke racial tensions. Hmong leaders are to discuss the incident at a news conference this morning in St. Paul. People at the Monday meeting also discussed reports of conflicts between Hmong hunters and other hunters.
"The most important thing now is we need to stay in support of the families of the victims," Michael Yang said. "We need to pray for them."
The gathering also may shed more light on Chai Soua Vang, 36, whose background was unknown to a number of community leaders searching for information on him Monday. The suspect's brother, Sang Vang, 32, said he and his brother came to this country from their native Laos in 1980. Chai Soua Vang is married, has six children and is "a good family man," his brother said. Chai Soua Vang had served in the U.S. Army, is a naturalized citizen and speaks English well.
Sang Vang said he could not believe his older sibling was responsible for Sunday's shootings that killed six hunters and injured two others.
"I don't know what to think," Sang Vang said. "I'm shocked."
The earlier incident involving Chai Soua Vang's alleged use of a weapon occurred while he was living in Minneapolis. He was arrested on Christmas Eve in 2001 after his wife at the time, Say Xiong, told police he had threatened her life while he waved a handgun at her, according to police reports. Three of their children confirmed their mother's account to police, who arrived at 11 p.m. to check on the dispute at 2901 Aldrich Ave. N., a four-unit apartment complex.
Chai Soua Vang told officers he and his wife began arguing when he told her he wanted to separate. As the dispute grew, he told police, he threatened her with the gun. Police seized the unidentified weapon, loaded with a shell in the chamber, from the couple's bedroom.
Chai Soua Vang never faced charges in that incident because his wife refused to cooperate with prosecutors, said officer Ron Reier, Minneapolis police spokesman. In a separate matter, court records from Minneapolis show Chai Soua Vang was charged with possessing 108 crappies, which was 93 over the limit, in April 2001. He pleaded guilty to a petty misdemeanor and paid a fine and fees of $328.
While the police reports on the December 2001 domestic incident indicate Say Xiong was the suspect's wife, on Monday the Associated Press interviewed a woman named Deu Khang, 37, who identified herself as Chai Soua Vang's "cultural" wife. Interviewed at the Wisconsin jail where Chai Sousa Vang was being held, she said she was in shock following the shootings.
"We don't really know what went wrong. We don't know,'' she told the AP.
More recently, St. Paul police were called to Chai Soua Vang's East Side home five times since June 2003, St. Paul police spokesman officer Paul Schnell said. Twice, someone at the house — on the 800 block of East Fourth Street — was a victim of a theft and twice they were called on a report of a domestic disturbance. However, police merely advised on the two disturbances and did not write reports, so police have no details, Schnell said.
The other call was on Sept. 15, 2003, to serve a Hennepin County arrest warrant for theft on Xia Yang, then 29, who was at the house. It was not know what Xia Yang's relationship was to Chai Soua Vang, Schnell said.
Neighbors readily conceded the area had more than its share of issues with gunfire, gang activity and drug dealing but did not associate Chai Soua Vang with such problems.
His two-story yellow house is surrounded by a chain-link fence, including a tall chain-link gate with a "no trespassing" sign running across the top of the driveway. St. Paul police helped his family leave the home at 7 p.m. Sunday, Schnell said, at their request.
"This is a bad neighborhood, but you don't expect something like this to go on," said neighbor Jeff Johnson, a carpenter and deer hunter. "It makes deer hunters want to stop going deer hunting. You worry about the person next to you in the trees. Are they there to hunt the deer or are they there to snipe you?"
Charlie Golden-Black, who lives across the street from Chai Soua Vang, said her neighbors were quiet and kept to themselves. She said she pictured him Monday as she often saw him — leaving his house in a suede jacket and dress pants.
"Shame on us for letting this happen," Golden-Black said. "Maybe there was something we could have said to this man. We have been working diligently to try to turn this neighborhood around. I just can't get over it. It's kind of scary. How can anybody that appears to be fairly normal, clean-cut account for killing (six) people?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
