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Friends, family grieve for two men slain in Robinson restaurant
Monday, May 01, 2000 By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Thao Q. "Tony" Pham watched his father sicken and die on the makeshift boat that carried them away from Vietnam 20 years ago. Because he grew up without a father, he cherished the time he spent with his own son, 5-year-old Chris.
Pham, of Castle Shannon, was shot and killed Friday in a rampage that killed four other people and critically injured another.
"This happened in the land of the free and the home of the brave, in a nation founded by immigrants," said Karen Yee, spokeswoman for the local chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans. "We are gathered here to console the families of the victims."
Friends and family of another victim, Ji-Ye "Jerry" Sun of Churchill, were also present.
About 50 people met yesterday afternoon in a room at Community College of Allegheny County on the North Side. Most were from Asian churches and organizations, including the Greater Pittsburgh Chinese Restaurant and Business Association.
But others came, too, including Tim Stevens, president of the Pittsburgh branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and representatives of Beth El Congregation of South Hills in Scott and from South Hills Interfaith Ministries.
Formation of a fund to provide financial aid to families of the victims also was announced. It is called the 428 Victims Foundation, named for the date of April 28 on which the killings occurred.
Chris Pham shyly smiled at the kindly strangers who rallied to his side yesterday. But when his father's name was said aloud, tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I miss my daddy," the boy said, loudly and repeatedly. "I want my daddy to come back!"
Chris' mother, Bang "Bonnie" Ngo, said, "He keeps crying for his daddy. I cannot tell him what happened to his father. He is too little to know. Thao's father died trying to get to freedom. Thao lost his life here, in the country where his father wanted him to live."
Pham was 7 or 8 years old when his father died. Pham lived in a refugee camp for a while until he was taken in by an American minister.
"Thao never wanted his son to grow up without a father, like he did," his wife said. "He wanted his son to be educated. He loved his son and he worked very hard" to make a life for him.
"When our son was born he was very ill and we worked hard to make his health stable," Ngo said. The child has chronic health problems and the family has no health insurance.
Pham also had been sending money to relatives in Vietnam, including his mother.
"I can't take care of them," Ngo said, fighting back tears. "I can't even take care of myself. I don't know what I'm going to do."
May Ling Kung, Sun's widow, declined to speak to reporters. Her daughter, Molly Wee, did speak, however, saying Sun was her step-father and "a very generous person. He made my mother very happy" in the seven years they were married.
"He came from nothing and built a nice life. He did not like conflict and he did not like negatives," Wee said.
Sun's funeral will be a traditional Buddhist ceremony, but it has been delayed because his parents are traveling from China.
A candlelight vigil in memory of Pham and Sun will be held at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Ya Fei Chinese Cuisine, Robinson Town Centre, where both men worked and were killed.
Donations, with checks payable to the 428 Victims Foundation, can be mailed to GPCRBA, 3420 Gulf Tower, Pittsburgh 15219.
The shootings "are a wake-up call to all of Pittsburgh," said Yee, the Chinese group's spokeswoman. "We condemn hate crimes. We must all come together to fight violence."
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