By all accounts from his parents, teachers and friends, Tommy Le had turned his life around.
It’s a mystery to all close to the 20 year old what triggered Le to threaten residents in Burien near Seattle, according to the
Seattle Times.
The threats were so forceful some called 911 to report a man with a sharp object. Witnesses say he banged on one resident’s door screaming he was “the creator.”
When Sheriff deputies arrived, they too thought Le had a knife. They fired a taser at Le, but said it had no effect on him. Deputies say Le moved towards them, so they shot him three times. He died a short time later.
The Seattle Weekly reported the sharp object turned out not to be a knife, but a pen.
The shooting happened just hours before Le’s graduation ceremony.
The Weekly says he had no criminal record. Word about Le’s death spread quickly through the Vietnamese American community.
“On the one hand, it’s a fellow Vietnamese American person, a member of the community, and that them being shot dead by anyone regardless of whether it is police is difficult for the community to grapple with,” said Linh Thai, director of Seattle’s Vietnamese Community Leadership Institute. “It’s impacting everyone in that sense.”
Thai also says the community trusts the police will eventually come out with the full story
Part of that story takes place at Career Link, an alternative high school program for dropouts.
Teachers told the Times Le was a “goofy little guy,” with no disciplinary problems. A fellow graduate described her classmate as a “bubbly kid” and an “easy person to talk to about anything.”
A toxicology report is still pending to determine if Le had any drugs in his system.
“I’m so angry,” said Tommy’s father Sunny Le. “I want to know what happened to my son.”
ht/Jason Fong
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff.