Thanh Vu — who owned Viet My Supermarket in New Orleans East for more than 30 years — was shot and killed during an armed robbery on New Year’s Day, according to NOLA.
Vu was killed around 6 p.m. after two men robbed the store, WDSU6 reported. The men took cigarette cartons after the owner and mother-of-six was shot in the head. Police said the suspects were gone upon their arrival.
In a profile on the grocery store, which increasingly served Hispanic immigrants after Hurricane Katrina, Vu once told NOLA she rehires her Hispanic employees for their work ethic. She did not hesitate to give former employee Eddie Benitez his job back after he left to find construction work. He ultimately returned to his job at Viet My because construction work wasn’t enough for Benitez to support his family in Honduras.
Suspects and motives for the crime remain unclear, as police continue to investigate.
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