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| Grandma Saroeun Sok family photo |
Donations to the family may be sent to:October 2, 2010
Thyda Luellen Benevolent Account
BECU
P.O. Box 34044
Seattle, WA 98124-1044
By Arthur Hu
Asian Week
Chalk up one more angry Asian American shooter, but it wasn’t the first angry old Asian. Not too many people noticed when 69 year old “uncle” John Chong went bananas April 2009 at the Korean Christian Kkottongnae Retreat Camp southeast of Los Angeles. He shot a woman and wounded a man before his next victims fought back and beat him senseless.
On Thursday September 23, Seattle suffered its most horrific shooting in four years as 60 year old much loved Cambodian “grandma” Saroeun Sok came down the stairs dressed in white with an eerie smile and suddenly opened fire on her daughter and family in her West Seattle home. Four were killed as she shot herself, her son-in-law, and two teen grand-daughters.
In Cambodia, Sok took pleasure in dressing up young women and bridesmaids for weddings. She would spend fitting gowns and taking care of hair and makeup. But she became troubled, perhaps during the time of the Killing Fields, and Sok stabbed her sister in a fit of rage. She would rarely speak of those times, but it claimed the lives of two of her children and her parents before she escaped to camps in Thailand and then the Phillipines and Philadelphia with her husband Chhoey Sok, and surviving daughter Thyda Phan.
Now In West Seattle, Sok was the matriarch of a crowded house with 11 people, but she fell into mental illness as Thyda’s second husband left and got custody of her boys. Sok was hospitalized for schuizophrenia and depression, and in previous weeks, she had a phobia about colors and would only wear white. Sok was upset when they were evicted and had to move to a crowded 3 bedroom house. She could not find her things, felt nobody liked her, and thought the television was talking and shooting at her. After she was mugged walking home, she learned to fire a gun, but her husband carefully hid his two handguns from her.
Then on the fateful day, Saroeun Sok again donned white and took one of the guns from its hiding place. Then warned auntie Lisa Sun (28) to go into her room and shut the door as she headed down to hunt down the rest of the family. Granny calmly walked down the stairs to greet her son-in-law Choen Harm (43) who was back from scarce work, and had said “even if they had only a penny among them, if the family was together, it was OK”. She calmly pulled out a gun from her jacket and shot him. Thyda heard a pop and wondered who was playing with firecrackers when 16 year old son Kevin shouted “Mom, grandma’s killed Dad!” as granny shot at Kevin and 7 yr old Nevaeh ducked under a blanket. As teen daughter Jennifer (17) ran down to help her father, she was also shot in the back. The gun jammed, as grandma seemed possessed. A woman would could barely walk was running upstairs like a demon upstairs and nobody could catch her.
Kevin pushed everybody to the downstairs basement. As Thyda called police, granny came down with the other gun and shot her. She was seen running out yelling her mother had gone crazy. Then she ran back inside to help her children, where she was shot two more times trying to take the gun away.
Granny chased the others downstairs to the basement where she stood blocking escape at the sliding door to shoot the children along with Jennifer’s boyfriend Allen Green, 18. Kevin punched out a window where the teens scrambled out, and pulled the little girl out. Then the mortally wounded Jennifer stumbled into the bedroom where granny was shooting. Kevin urged 14 year old Melina to get out, but she stayed at her sister’s side where granny shot through the window to kill little Melina. Kevin later said “She wouldn’t leave her older sister. Her older sister is her best friend” after Kevin had been missed five times.
As officers formed a police line outside the house, granny’s husband shot past into the house. He was just in time to see his wife shoot herself in the head, sadly coming out to say that he was too late.
The next day, when Tony Sun (17) walked through the house after the investigation, all he had to say was “Oh my God” as he surveyed the blood stains where his uncle and cousins were killed. That evening a hastily organized memorial service was held at Khemarak Pothiram Temple. Pink packages with pencils, books and drinks were prepared for their journey into the afterlife. Monks in orange chanted and burned incense. Sitting on rugs under a white tent without shoes, they prayed for forgiveness of grandma Sok, who could not be reborn as a human after killing another. They prayed for the release of the spirits of the others who might later return, perhaps to their own family as a new baby child nephew or niece. Survivor Thyda told reporters “I hope they come back”.
This story is based on news articles by the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, KIRO-TV and KOMO-TV.
19 comments:
Reporter Arthur Hu is the best. That maniac old woman was a former muderer who took the lives of her relatives since she was in Cambodia. She was a murderer before and she was a murderer in the new land. I wonder what Arthur wants the readers to understand. People with mental disease are a danger to the society? This incident is horrific. I wonder how many of the traumatized smiling Cambodians out there are with this kind of mental diseases? How do you cure such a disease anyway. According to the Buddhist law, that old woman will now be trapped in the frying pan for all eternity.
2:21
Go back and reread the post again. She didn't not murder her family.
Correction: She did NOT.....
The danger was that the gun was placed in the house.
2:21 am,
This problem is not limited to Cambodian people. Remember this Yate woman who drown (how many of her children?) in a bath tub?
I believe this woman's problem was spiritual. I won't deny that physical trauma didn't contribute to her downfall.
There is help if only they had sought from the right source. Many broken lies been made whole when they encounter Jesus their Messiah.
At www.unshackled.org a person can listen to true dramatized stories of people been set free from all sort of problems when they reached the end of their ropes.
There is no hope in Buddhism.
Jesus said that he hath the keys of life, death and hell in his possession--therefore we must go to him for the key to life. Think about it... We use keys for about everything. How much more when it comes to the key to eternal life.
You wouldn't want a thief to have a key to your house or car... Likewise, God will not let anyone into His Kingdom unless he/she possess his Son (key) for legal entry. No man is righteous enough to enter on his own merit.
My life is spiritual that is why I constantly write about spiritual matters. This is the most IMPORTANT issue for any human being. Because after one die is the Judgment before a God whom we have to account ourselves to.
God wants to make peace with each one of us right now by giving of his only Son for the propitiation of our sins. If you don't accept his offer he has no alternative but to cast you into outer darnkness where there is constant wailing and knashing of teeth.
3:28: Let me post the quote in the article for you:
"In Cambodia, Saroeun Sok became troubled, perhaps during the time of the Killing Fields, and Saroeun Sok stabbed her sister in a fit of rage.
"Now In West Seattle, Sok fell into mental illness. Sok was hospitalized for schuizophrenia and depression, and in previous weeks, she had a phobia about colors and would only wear white.
Then on the fateful day, Saroeun Sok again donned white and took one of the guns from its hiding place and headed down to hunt down the rest of the family."
I sincerely share the sorrow of the family victims.This tragedy could not have happened if this family had not adopted the American Culture of Gun.
I do think that very few Cambodians inside and outside the Country have legal weapons at home.
7:08, what is the American culture of Gun. Do you think without the rights to own guns, we would have the country the America today? Because of the rights to own guns and that was why the Americans were able to fight the British to declare independence from England back in the days. Guns don't kill but it is the users of the guns that kill. If you go for the argument that guns create opportunities for people to kill or to threaten, then again those people can go around using household utensils to kill and threaten as well. That crazed maniac already used a knife to stab her own sister way back in Cambodia. She got a taste of blood long before she showed her true violent colors in the States. So don't blame the knife or the gun, but blame on the person whose mind is no longer compatible with the rest of the society. Good riddance.
9:39am, You should understand a little more about gun which kill more people than knife, my friend. Luckily, those two members of the family, one missed a few times and the other also missed the target.So what do you think if those two got hit by her bullets? The whole family would be no one left.I think you already knew that how many people were killed by guns in America?
11:27, I also know that more than a million people died from Cambodia's simple farming tools at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Please accept that people kill, not the guns or axes, or hoes, or clubs, or knives. The maniac already STABBED her own sister with a knife and didn't kill her. So your missed gun fires evidence is also the same. Guns and knives don't kill, people who use them are the killers and that is why no society locks up guns and knives, but only the murderers.
9:39AM with due respect i find it strange that americans could ever justify the right to bear firearms.
sure people get killed by maniacs armed with knives, screwdrivers etc.. but it takes guns to make mass killing so easy, and to turn someone into a mass murderer. how do you know yur neighbour is not as sane as he seems to be? and how do you know you are not as sane as you like others to believe?
ម្នាក់ៗក្បាលកញ្ចាស់ហើយគ្មានដឹងខ្ល់អីទៀត
ភ្លេចក្បាលពួកវាបានរស់ដោយសារ
បក្សប្រជាជន។អាពួកនេះជាខ្ញុំកញ្ជះអាមេរិកាំង
ប្រជាជនអាមេរិកាំងវាមើលងាយពលរដ្ធខ្មែរ
តាំងពីឆ្នាំ១៩៨០មកទល់សព្វថ្ងៃហើយអាវង្វេង
ជាតិមួយចំនួនគ្មានដឹងអ្វីសោះ។មានអាខ្លះ
នៅក្នុងចំណោមបាតករមានអាខ្លះកូនចៅចូលគុកមិន
ទាន់ចេញផងម្តេចមិនទៅខឹងអាគាំងទៅ
មានអាខ្លះសម្លាប់ប្តីចូលគុកមិនទាន់ចេញមកផង។
ហើយមានអាខ្លះនៅក្នុងចំណោមបាតករហ្នឹងពួក
អាគាំងវាយធ្វើបាបចង់ងាប់ទៅទៀត។មានអាខ្លះ
ជុំពាក់តាក់ពន្ធដាគេសង់មិនទាន់អស់ផងហើយមកស្រេកឡូងៗថាខ្លួនជាអ្នកស្រឡាញ់ជាតិ
មានអាខ្លះគេងប្រវាញ់លុយប្រជាពលរដ្ធខ្មែរ
រាបលានដុល្លាហើយបែជាថាខ្លួនស្រឡាញ់
ខ្មែរ។ខ្មែរវង្វេងជាតិរស់នៅស្រុកអាគាំងមួយ
ចំនួនគឺគ្មាននរណាស្រឡាញ់ខ្មែរនោះទេ
អាខ្លះនិយាយថាគេមិនចង់កើតជាខ្មែរទៀតទេ
អាខ្លះថាមិនឲ្យមានកូនចៅណាយកខ្មែរ
ជាប្រពន្ធប្តីនោះទេ។តែដល់ទីបញ្ចប់ពួកអាគាំង
យកកូនចៅអាវង្វេងជាតិខ្មែរទាំងនោះបានតែ
ម៉ាស្រួលខ្លួនពួកវាតែប៉ុណ្ណឹងគេក៍លែងក្បាល
ចោលទៅ។បើនិយាយអំពីពួកអាវង្វេង
ជាតិខ្មែររស់នៅស្រុកអាគាំងមួយខែក៏មិនចប់ដែរ។
Hey you fucking Viet slave @7:13PM,
If you want to be Viet's slave for life, go ahead - it is your right, your freedom of choice, but do not drag the Cambodian people along with you or you will be eliminated from the face of this green planet earth. This is not a warning nor is it a threat but rather a promise to you!
[Connard, l’esclave des Viêts à 7:13 PM,
Si tu veux être l'esclave des Viêts à vie, vas-y: c'est ton droit, ta liberté de choix, mais ne pas essayer de prendre le peuple cambodgien libre avec toi ou tu seras éliminé de cette verte planète. Ce n'est pas un avertissement ni une menace mais plutôt une promesse sûre!]
ហេ អា/មី ងាប់ផុតពូជ ៧:១៣PM
បើ អា/មី ងាប់ផុតពូជឯងចង់ធ្វើខ្ញុំកញ្ជះយួនអស់
មួយជីវិតនោះ ក៏ធ្វើទៅ តែកុំមកបញ្ចុះបញ្ចូលនាំខ្មែរ
អ្នកជា ផ្សេងៗទៀតទៅជាមួយអា/មី ងាប់ផុតពូជ
ឯងអោយសោះ ពុំនោះសោតទេ អា/មី ងាប់ផុត
ពូជឯងនឹងត្រូវអ្នកស្នេហាជាតិសំឡាប់អោយផុត
ពូជបាត់ពីលើផែនដីខៀវស្រងាត់នេះទៅមិនខាន។
នេះមិនមែនជាពាក្យព្រមានសំឡុតគំរាមកំហែងឬ
បន្លាចនោះទេ តែវាជាពាក្យ សន្យាដ៏ពិតប្រាកដតែ
មួយម៉ាត់ប៉ុណ្ណោះសំរាប់អាផុតពូជឯង!!!
That an illness: Schrizophrenia,
see the film BEAUTIFUL MIND,
played by Russel Crowe,
about Dr Nash,
a University Professor,
a true story about Schrizophrenia
6:10
She did not kill her family in Cambodia. She stabbed one of her sister and there wasn't anything on the article that says she killed her. Did I miss anything?
I agree with 1:48.
Gun don't kill people. It's people who use gun to kill other people.
7:13 PM,
ពូជឯង អង្វ ឲ្យអ្នកណាយក កូនឯង
ក៍ គ្មាន អ្នកណា គេយកផង
6:10, you are right that Arthur Hu did not say what happened to Sok's sister after Sok stabbed her with a knife. Perhaps Sok's sister lives on to tell the ordeal to the latter generation. However, Arthur Hu also talked about Sok's missed gun fires at two of her relatives in Seattle.
My point is the same: Sareoun Sok had the INTENTION to kill her relatives both in Cambodia and the States. Now whether her intended victims were able to survive the carnage or not was a matter of luck. This woman has a repeated pattern of using weapons to kill in Cambodia and in the States. That is what she was really about. She chose not to use words, but weapons instead to take her anger out on people.
It is very dangerous to have guns in the home. What is the reason for the family to have guns in the home knowing the ongoing mental instability of the sick granny?
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