A gory killing in Brooklyn, New York in early December ended a 20-year only family feud in China that could be compared to Mafia or Yakuza wars among Italian or Japanese gangs. However, the feud was not who controls the drug syndicate or prostitution ring in China where the anger started.
The shooting took place at a Popeye's restaurant, a fried chicken fast food, where 45-year-old Wu Long Chen, a Chinese military veteran, shot 68-year-old Yingguan Chen in the head. Yingguan, the family patriarch who collapsed on the restaurant floor while saying in Mandarin, "I'm going to die," was attending a wedding when Wu spotted him.
ABC reports that Wu had gunshot wounds to the head, torso and right arm. He was rushed to Lutheran Hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
It was over garbage that led Wu to shoot Yingguan to death, reports The New York Post. Trash pranks, like the one below posted in YouTube, may appear to be good prank material, but when the garbage war escalates, it could be fatal.
According to Vicky, Yingguan's daughter, their families were neighbors who fought because Wu's family often threw trash into their yard. However, during that time, Yingguan was in the U.S. already and had no idea his children were having trash battles with their neighbors.
Gary, Yingguan's son, recounts Wu and his brothers coming to their house and intimidating them, including pushing their mother around and hurting her arm. Because it became violent, the police had to step in. The two families were each fined $1,000.
Wu and Yingguan attended the wedding of a mutual friend when the shooting happened. "It's surprising that this man could hold a grudge and make my father a target. It's a complete shock," says Gary.
The gunman attempted to escape to Mexico, but border officials in Loredo, Texas, caught Wu on Monday and brought him back to Brooklyn to face weapons and murder cases.