Chinese American communities are shocked and deeply saddened by the shooting death of a 60-year-old grandpa, Mr. Jiansheng Chen, in the River Walk Community of Chesapeake, Virginia on January 26, 2017.

Mr. Chen was unarmed, sitting in a parked minivan playing Pokémon Go, a GPS-based cell phone game, just half a mile from his home, and as far as we know he could not cause any imminent threat of life to the security officer. There was absolutely no justification for the security guard to kill Mr. Chen by firing multiple shots through his minivan window. The security guard was supposed to protect the community that Mr. Chen lived in; instead he killed an innocent, unarmed old man. The River Walk Community Association stated that they “have a contract for unarmed roving patrol services.” Why was the security guard armed with a gun while on duty?  What was his intention with a gun? Why was Mr. Chen shot multiple times inside his own minivan and his own community? Was Mr. Chen shot because he looked different or spoke with an accent?

It has been more than ten days and there are still no answers from the city officials, no charges, and no arrests.

We as members of the Chinese American communities strongly demand the City of Chesapeake and its Police Department to conduct a thorough, fair, and transparent investigation into this case. As immigrants ourselves, we know there were many injustices towards our community in the past and today’s America has made great progress in pursuing equal justice for all.  We have confidence in our current legal systems and look forward to justice being fulfilled for Mr. Chen, his devastated family, and the American society as a whole. 

Signed Organizations:

Washington DC Area Chinese American Association, etc.