Xyy Lee: A Tribute to the Fresno Shooting Victim

Xyy Lee was a well-known Hmong singer who was killed in a backyard shooting in Fresno, California on November 17. The shooting left four dead and at least six injured, according to early reports following the incident.

The incident took place on Sunday evening, when one or more gunmen snuck into a backyard party and opened fire. The motive and number of suspects has not yet been established by authorities.

According to Michael Reed, a deputy chief of the Fresno Police Department, all of the victims from the shooting were Asian men between 25 and 30 years old. A day after the shooting, the names of the three other men killed in the shooting were released from the Fresno County Coroner: Phia Vang, 31; Kou Xiong, 38; and Kalaxang Thao, 40. All four men were locals.

Another popular Hmong singer JN Vang was shot in the incident, as confirmed by Hmong Talk. He is undergoing surgery, per the Facebook group, which prayed for his fast recovery.

Lee was 23 years old at the time of his death. He was originally from Laos.

Here’s what you have to know:

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Lee was a Successful Hmong Singer With Millions of Views on YouTube

Lee’s death was confirmed by a family member on Sunday evening. The Facebook group Hmong Talk was one of the many to pay tribute to the Hmong singer, writing a post that read, “We have received confirmation from his family member that Xy Lee , the famous Hmong singer was indeed one of the victim that was shot and killed at the family gathering. This is truly a heart breaking time for everyone involved. Thank you for all the beautiful music that you have have created . You will truly be miss! RIP! ???”

Another fan wrote, “The Hmong Community has lost a talented musician…May You Rest In Peace Xyy Lee, your music will live on”

Still another person wrote, “Brother Xyy Lee thanks for always being a helping hand. He volunteered to be a judge for this year’s Ciaj Sia Music Challenge. May you RIP. Your talent will live on forever.”

Lee had over 90,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. Many of his uploaded videos, like the one above, generated millions of views on the platform. Cumulatively, his videos have been watched over 17 million times. According to his Facebook, a profession on YouTube was his main gig, and he was originally from Long Beach, California.

Since news of his death has spread, many have taken to commenting on his videos. One person wrote, “Rip to a young legend. You had that Hmong tone that made me really get into all your songs.”

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A GoFundMe Has Been Set Up in Honor of Lee; All Proceeds will go Towards His Family

Xyy Lee FacebookA GoFundMe has been set up in honor of Lee by a friend. The summary for the page reads,

Xyy Lee came to me one summer afternoon in 2010 and wanted to learn how I make money online. At that time I ran several social networks that generate money on advertisements. I don’t even know who he was but by the way he look I can tell he was a good person. Every day I spent hours on the phone teaching him how he can earn a few hundred dollars just by adding friends to his page and generating views on his content. I showed him how he can make money on Youtube by posting his songs and music videos. He would asked me 100 questions, how this work?, how that work?, how can I make more money? I always encouraged him to work hard, sing more songs, make more videos. One time I bought all his CDs at the new year and just pass them out to random strangers who passed by.  I remembered when he made his first $100 dollars, he called me up and said ” Hey guest what? I made $100 dollars this month” he was so happy and I was very proud of him. Ever since that day onward I always encourage him to work hard and never give up. I remembered we were planning a cruise to mexico and on the last day he asked his dad and his dad said NO, I was like ” you’re 30 years old and still asked your dad when you go out” we both laughed.

The initial goal for the fundraiser was $100. It was immediately surpassed.

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Around 35 People Were in a Back Yard Watching a Football Game When One or More Shooters Opened Fire

A collection of approximately 35 people and children were in the backyard in Fresno when one or more shooters opened fire randomly. They’d been watching a football game when the shooting began.

At a press conference following the event, Reed said, “This is senseless violence. We’re going to do everything we can to find out who the perpetrators are and bring them to justice.”

He added, “Thank God that no kids were hurt because there were several kids and females that were in attendance at this party. So right now, all 10 of the victims, deceased or not, were all injured males in that 25 to 35 range.”

 

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