From MPD:
June 29, 2010 Arrest Made in Double Homicide in the 1200 Block of 5th Street, NE
(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced today an arrest has been made in the double homicide that occurred on Wednesday, June 23, 2010 in the 1200 block of 5th Street, NE. “I applaud MPD’s swift work in apprehending the suspect of this egregious crime,” said Mayor Fenty. “My condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims. We work hard to ensure the safety of our businesses in the Farmer’s Market.” Today at approximately 6:30 a.m. members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 25-year-old Christian Taylor of Southwest, DC charging him with two counts of First Degree Felony Murder While Armed in connection with the shooting deaths of 32-year-old Li-Jen Chih and 59-year-old Ming-Kun Chih. The apparent motive in this case is robbery of the establishment. “I promised to put everything the Department had in finding those responsible for this horrific crime,” said Chief Lanier. “I am pleased that we were able to close this case as quickly as we did.” On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at approximately 3:05 pm, Fifth District Officers responded to the 1200 Block of 5th Street, NE, to investigate the report of a shooting. When police arrived, they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds. One victim died at the scene. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Service personnel responded to the scene and transported the other victim to an area hospital where he was admitted in grave condition and later succumbed to his injuries. The victim who died at the scene is identified as 32-year-old Li-Jen Chih of the 1600 block of 8th Street, NW. The victim who died at the hospital is identified as 59-year-old Ming-Kun Chih of the unit block of Symphony Woods Court, Silver Spring, Md.
Commander Lamar D. Greene
A few quick notes:
1. I'm not sure why Fenty referred to this as "the Farmer's Market," because this business was not in the same building as the DC Farmers Market.
2. I'm very glad to hear that MPD has made at least one arrest. I expect others to follow quickly. I believe there were two individuals immediately involved in the robbery, and others may have possibly (I'm speculating) been involved in the planning of the robbery, or harboring the fugitives. This was a very brutal attack on a family owned business that resulted in the loss of two innocent lives. As I mentioned before, I was standing at the corner of Montello (12th street north of Florida) and Florida when we saw the getaway car speed past us with MPD following. At that rate of speed they could easily have killed someone else. That happened several years back when a teen fleeing a drug bust murdered two young children (siblings both under 10 years of age) when he blew through a stop light at 80 mph at the same intersection.
3. If you are ever in a business (as an owner, worker, or patron) while it is being robbed, please don't fight back. If they only want money, they will be happy to take it and leave. A few months after I left for college the music and video store where I worked was robbed by two men with shot guns. Thankfully, nobody was injured. It could have been much worse.
4. My heart goes out to the family of those killed. It's so horrible to see a father and son wiped out in one foul swoop. The two men killed were 32-year-old Li-Jen Chih and 59-year-old Ming-Kun Chih.
Those wishing to make a donation can do so through the mortuary at 411 Kennedy Street NW 20011 Washington, DC. There is also one other way, but I need to verify the address.
8 comments:
where you get this donation address? i dont think the family setup anything like that.
From an attorney who represents Market merchants. This is apparently the mortuary that handled the bodies. Do you have another address?
who is the attorney ? what is the contact info for this attorney?
Paul Pascal. You can find him online, or in the phone book.
Does anyone know...is this murder being considered a hate crime? If not I think it should be. The motives clearly weren't loving and the victims were minorities.
This reminds me of a cab ride I had in Isreal. The driver know I lived in America asked.. "If someone robbed you, what would you do?" I said I'd just give him the money.. He said "No, In Isreal we will fight to the death otherwise people like these will thrive. Even if they eventually get money from you, you have to make them work for it." How would DC police have help area businesses if this was just a robbery? Probably nothing. In fact I know this area has been robbed constantly. Is fighting for yourself really that wrong? If robberies were so constant, why did DC police not step up patrol in the area?
Anon 6:24- This was exactly the reason why I chased a purse snatcher past Friday at the corner of 13th and H st NE. I gave him a good 5 block run through the alleys unfortunately he got away. The owner of the purse was visibly shaken to have reacted quickly. However, general public should not let criminals get away as long as you can to some extent guarantee your own safety. I took a calculated risk seeing that the guy was wearing a shirt and shorts so should not have carried a gun.
"Prefer to remain anonymous" good for you. It's disheartening to see on TV so often the people are so afraid of helping they just stand and watch. What I'm mainly interested in this thread is how is DC Police stepping up to protect these people before they are dead? Simply hand over money has made these people targets. The Metro Police should probably not pat themselves on the back so much either.. They arrested a guy that for all practical purposes is just plain stupid. Only prop is to the officer Vogel who recognized the car.
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