Fatal shooting of sexagenarian causes uproar among Chinese Americans
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Fatal shooting of sexagenarian causes uproar among Chinese Americans
The shooting of a 60-year-old man in Chesapeake, Virginia, has stirred up indignation among Chinese-American communities, who are demanding justice for the killing of the unarmed man.
The incident is the latest in a series of shootings involving Chinese Americans and took place in the victim’s minivan on Jan. 26. Jiansheng Chen, a retiree whose English was “very limited,” was shot to death by a security guard while playing Pokémon Go, a popular augmented reality game, NBC News reported.
Though local police have confirmed that Mr. Chen was unarmed at the time, the security guard’s attorney is claiming self-defense, media reported.
No one has yet been charged in connection with the shooting.
Local police have not released further details on the shooting, but Chinese Americans have voiced their discontent, demanding authorities carry out an impartial investigation.
“I can’t sleep after hearing about the tragedy. I fear my family members may become the next victims. Chinese Americans are vulnerable in the U.S., I don’t think this would have occurred if [Mr. Chen] was an African American or a Muslim,” said Cui Songyao, a Chinese American on WeChat.
“The incident was reported by mainstream media in the U.S. a week after it occurred. It seems to me the public didn’t pay much attention to the tragedy because the victim is a Chinese American. More people should know about this incident and justice should be given to the victim,” Alexandra Shi, a Chinese student in New York, told People’s Daily Online.
In response to the incident, chat groups have also been formed on social media platforms, such as WeChat, to support the impartial investigation of the shooting. “Civil Rights,” a WeChat public account founded in 2013 to support the legal rights of Chinese Americans, has also called for Chinese-American communities to support Mr. Chen and his family.
