In front of her brother's casket, Sopheak Riem, right, hugs Casey Aguon during Sophear Riem's wake Tuesday. Sophear Riem was shot early Sunday morning at a bachelor party in Port Hueneme. Police said Wednesday they had not identified a suspect or motive for the shooting. The Star was invited by the Riem family to photograph Tuesday's viewing. (Photos by James Glover II / Star staff)'Sophear did not deserve this'
Thursday, November 8, 2007
By Adam Foxman (Contact)
The Ventura County Star (Ventura, California, USA)
Sophear Riem's killing at a weekend bachelor party in Port Hueneme was like an earthquake, his mother said. It came without warning and shook friends and family to their foundations.
Riem, 20, of Oxnard was in a good mood on the last night of his life, said friends who spoke to him shortly before he was killed. A gentle, happy young man who always seemed to have a smile on his face, he was in his element in groups.
"Every day of his life was a party," said Angel Garibay, 22, who became friends with Riem at Sunkist School in Port Hueneme. "Everybody loved him."
Details about what happened at the party remained sketchy this week. Port Hueneme police said Wednesday that they had not determined a suspect or possible motive for the shooting, which also left four other men injured, two critically. But police think Riem was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sgt. Peter Freiberg said.
The host of the Saturday night party told Riem's father, Saren Riem, that two men the host didn't know showed up at the party in the 600 block of Lighthouse Way in Port Hueneme and asked the groom-to-be for beer. The prospective groom asked the men to leave the party, and they did, but one came back in and started shooting, Saren Riem said.
Sophear Riem, standing near the groom, was shot in the head as he tried to run away, his father said. He was pronounced dead at the scene early Sunday. Four other men, ages 23 to 33, were shot multiple times. On Wednesday, two remained in critical condition and two were in stable condition. Police have not released the names of the wounded men.
Sophear Riem's relatives and friends are gathering this week at Conrad-Carroll Mortuary in Oxnard to remember him and pay their respects according to the Buddhist traditions his parents brought with them from their native Cambodia.
About 150 mourners packed the mortuary Tuesday as the week of funeral rites began.
During the ceremony, the smell of incense filled the air. Monks in orange robes chanted in their native language and prayed over Sophear Riem's body to allow his soul to rest peacefully. Buddhist mourners responded by praying that no one else will have to suffer a tragedy like theirs, said Sontheavy Riem, Sophear Riem's mother.
"We don't want anyone hurt like us," said Sontheavy Riem, 52.
After the ceremony, Sontheavy Riem described her son as a good kid who loved playing music with his band, Black Hand.
"I miss him," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Called Sushi by his friends — for his love of the Japanese delicacy — Sophear Riem had been a member of Black Hand for about five years. His performances for the heavy metal band were so exuberant that he sometimes stole the show, bandmates said. "He knew how to rock out on stage," said band member Chris Mejia.
Sophear Riem had big dreams for the band, said Deanna Romero, 21. "He wanted Black Hand to be the next Metallica if they could."
A graduate of Hueneme High School, Sophear Riem planned to eventually continue his education and work to improve communication between the United States and Cambodia, his mother said. But he wasn't in a rush, because he was enjoying his youth.
Saren Riem said his son accumulated a lot of life experience in his 20 years. When the family took a trip to Cambodia this spring, he helped rebuild a Buddhist temple in his father's village. The original temple was destroyed in the 1970s while the country was under communist rule.
Older relatives were impressed by the respect Sophear Riem showed them when he visited, and they couldn't believe it when Sontheavy Riem told them he had been killed, she said.
Garibay said he can't believe his friend is gone. "It seems like just a dream," he said. "He's just one of a kind."
Tuesday's ceremony focused on Sophear Riem's life, and there was little discussion about the killing. His cousin Bopha Hul was one of the few who broached the subject. After taking the podium to remember her cousin, she urged the group to not practice or advocate violence. She received a round of applause.
On Wednesday, Sophear Riem's father asked that anyone with information about his son's killer call the police.
"Sophear did not deserve this," he said, deploring violence. The next victim "could be any family, anybody."
The last viewing of Sophear Riem is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Conrad-Carroll Mortuary, 401 W. Channel Islands Blvd., Oxnard. The final memorial service before his cremation is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Monday at the mortuary.
Riem, 20, of Oxnard was in a good mood on the last night of his life, said friends who spoke to him shortly before he was killed. A gentle, happy young man who always seemed to have a smile on his face, he was in his element in groups.
"Every day of his life was a party," said Angel Garibay, 22, who became friends with Riem at Sunkist School in Port Hueneme. "Everybody loved him."
Details about what happened at the party remained sketchy this week. Port Hueneme police said Wednesday that they had not determined a suspect or possible motive for the shooting, which also left four other men injured, two critically. But police think Riem was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sgt. Peter Freiberg said.
The host of the Saturday night party told Riem's father, Saren Riem, that two men the host didn't know showed up at the party in the 600 block of Lighthouse Way in Port Hueneme and asked the groom-to-be for beer. The prospective groom asked the men to leave the party, and they did, but one came back in and started shooting, Saren Riem said.
Sophear Riem, standing near the groom, was shot in the head as he tried to run away, his father said. He was pronounced dead at the scene early Sunday. Four other men, ages 23 to 33, were shot multiple times. On Wednesday, two remained in critical condition and two were in stable condition. Police have not released the names of the wounded men.
Sophear Riem's relatives and friends are gathering this week at Conrad-Carroll Mortuary in Oxnard to remember him and pay their respects according to the Buddhist traditions his parents brought with them from their native Cambodia.
About 150 mourners packed the mortuary Tuesday as the week of funeral rites began.
During the ceremony, the smell of incense filled the air. Monks in orange robes chanted in their native language and prayed over Sophear Riem's body to allow his soul to rest peacefully. Buddhist mourners responded by praying that no one else will have to suffer a tragedy like theirs, said Sontheavy Riem, Sophear Riem's mother.
"We don't want anyone hurt like us," said Sontheavy Riem, 52.
After the ceremony, Sontheavy Riem described her son as a good kid who loved playing music with his band, Black Hand.
"I miss him," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Called Sushi by his friends — for his love of the Japanese delicacy — Sophear Riem had been a member of Black Hand for about five years. His performances for the heavy metal band were so exuberant that he sometimes stole the show, bandmates said. "He knew how to rock out on stage," said band member Chris Mejia.
Sophear Riem had big dreams for the band, said Deanna Romero, 21. "He wanted Black Hand to be the next Metallica if they could."
A graduate of Hueneme High School, Sophear Riem planned to eventually continue his education and work to improve communication between the United States and Cambodia, his mother said. But he wasn't in a rush, because he was enjoying his youth.
Saren Riem said his son accumulated a lot of life experience in his 20 years. When the family took a trip to Cambodia this spring, he helped rebuild a Buddhist temple in his father's village. The original temple was destroyed in the 1970s while the country was under communist rule.
Older relatives were impressed by the respect Sophear Riem showed them when he visited, and they couldn't believe it when Sontheavy Riem told them he had been killed, she said.
Garibay said he can't believe his friend is gone. "It seems like just a dream," he said. "He's just one of a kind."
Tuesday's ceremony focused on Sophear Riem's life, and there was little discussion about the killing. His cousin Bopha Hul was one of the few who broached the subject. After taking the podium to remember her cousin, she urged the group to not practice or advocate violence. She received a round of applause.
On Wednesday, Sophear Riem's father asked that anyone with information about his son's killer call the police.
"Sophear did not deserve this," he said, deploring violence. The next victim "could be any family, anybody."
The last viewing of Sophear Riem is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Conrad-Carroll Mortuary, 401 W. Channel Islands Blvd., Oxnard. The final memorial service before his cremation is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Monday at the mortuary.
16 comments:
Must be gang related.
My sincere condolences to the families and friends!
Time will heal!
Hope he get the justice he deserved (?) But then again, when one looks down on their own ancestors and their own kind, one might not.
The main prolem is that in USA , people are allowed to buy guns .
In Europe we don't encounter such a problem .
Where there is a bar, there usually is some drugs involving or is going on. Not with him, but there are 75-100 individual may be inside that bar. Who knows? It's such a shame.
American themself got shot at the bar and all becuase, he went to pick food, he had ordered earlier. When people are on drug. Their brians had already been fried. They don't know anything.
People just have to live and enjoy their lives around it the best they can. Life is too short. Those criminals will be caught and will get locked up in jail. Life goes on. Don't want it to happen? Stay away from it and find happiness somewhere else.
Not all countries in Europe. Recently in Finland, a gun man went on a rampage and killed 8 students. Apparently, Finland allows anyone to buy guns.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=akpUMNatpZHI&refer=europe
There will more to come and not all people are going to the bar. You can throw your own party at home with those you know, love, care for and enjoy your life to the most magnificent and wonderful way you can! The sky is limit in United States.
Rest his soul and may God be with him.
10:02, if a person want to have a gun, no law will stop that person from having a gun. There are plenty guns in black market. The key is to reduce violent is moral training, and we all know European is still a lot better than the US in that area, but they must not be careless about it.
The incident is no difference than any other part of the world. Remember: "The sucker is borned every 10 seconds."
mzmwmkub
That is not good. That type of westerner trained suckers should died every 10 seconds for the good of the world civilization.
My heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim. May he rests in peace.
ITS NOT GANG RELATED U FUCKIN IDIOTS ....HES MY HOMIE AND HE WASNT INTO SHIT LIKE THAT AT ALL....FUCK ALL OF U THAT DONT KNOW HIM AND SAY SHIT LIKE THAT....
Here is the Sophear Riem Foundation to all your Comments if all of you be able to do different it would be the best & best in & on this earth for a better life living.
I may invite every one to visit his website www.sophearriem.com
I am the mother of Sophear Riem his my baby boy & thank you for all your comment and the same time you are will need or want to do some thing different after you are visits our Son website.
I should hope that no one ever has to go through the pain of losing a loved one to senseless violence! I am the sister of this wonderful man! and i am disgusted with you people that judge prior to knowing the situation. IT WAS NOT GANG RELATED! HE was a good man and did nothing to deserve this! Let me ask all of you this! do you have to stay confined to your home for the rest of your life?! He went to a small get together for a close friend that was getting married! this was not a large gathering, it was a SMALL party, with family and close friends, and then a monster comes in and steals his life? how would you all feel to have a loved one taken away for no reason at all.. he was an INNOCENT BYSTANDER! May he rest in peace and look down on us all to watch over us, (even the judgemental, ignorant people, like some of the ones who have made comments here) He will give us hope for a better tomorrow. His life and spirit will live on to have so much more meaning than those who sit and judge with no understanding. To those, who gave sincere condolences, thank you for your kindness and support! To those who judge and speculate, may you have peace within yourself one day. You are an unhappy person, please better yourself and contribute to your own community in a good way. Negativity breeds hate, violence and ignorance. We all need to move past that now. May peace with you Sophear, your spirit and determination will live on through all the people that knew and still love you till this day, as well as through your Foundation. The Sophear Riem Foundation will be here to help communities near and far, please check out our website, thank you again for all your love and support! www.sophearriem.com
They mean the shooters are gang members...
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