There was outrage in Oakland Monday as members of the AAPI community condemned the fatal shooting of a well-regarded dentist in the city's Little Saigon neighborhood.
Dr. Lili Xu, who had dentistry offices in Oakland and Castro Valley, was shot and killed on Sunday.
Surveillance video of the incident shows a dark, four-door sedan park along a curb. Within seconds, a white, four-door sedan pulls up next to it. Someone gets out of the light-colored sedan and goes to the passenger side of the dark sedan. Then there was screaming and three shots.
Brendan Payne ran out when he heard gunfire.
“We did everything to make her as comfortable as possible. She was not in a good position at all,” he said.
Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said they're looking for any information about the people in the suspect vehicle seen in the surveillance video.
Community leaders said they're shocked and outraged at yet another deadly incident involving an Asian American victim.
"A person across the street who saw that same car kind of driving around the neighborhood and then park. So, targeting Lili? Maybe not. But targeting Asians? Definitely," Stewart Chen with the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council said.
Guosong Liu was a patient and friend of Xu. He said many of her patients became her friend because she was a very likable person.
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"I was shocked because we just celebrated her birthday recently," Liu said.
Liu said Xu just turned 60 a couple weeks ago.
At a rally outside Oakland City Hall on Monday, residents demanded that the violence stop and that Xu's killer be brought to justice.
One by one, members of the AAPI community took the microphone and vented their frustrations at elected officials and other community leaders.
"We need the politicians, we need all the people to play their part to do the work," Oakland resident Eddy Zheng said. "But it's the same thing. There's a lot of empty promises."
Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley tried describing the efforts her office and other law enforcement agencies are making to help. She told the crowd more police is just one part of a comprehensive effort. Seeking significant jail time for violent offenders is another.
