Father shoots, kills son in Maplewood home after dispute

An 84-year-old man, who a relative said has threatened to hurt family before, shot and killed his 36-year-old son on Monday at their Maplewood home.

After a two-hour standoff with police, Pang Vang was taken around 2 p.m. from the residence in the 1800 block of County Road B East and transported to Regions Hospital in critical condition with self-inflicted stab wounds to the neck and chest.

His son Chue Vang was declared dead at the scene, shot with a long gun, said Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell.

"Some sort of disagreement or ongoing dispute was occurring between father and adult son … at some point in time during the course of this incident, things escalated," Schnell said.

Chue Vang's mother, his brother and a young child of one of his brothers were at the home at the time of the shooting, Schnell said. One of the family members called police a little before noon Monday to report that someone had been shot and the suspect was still in the home.

A Hmong-speaking officer was the primary police contact during the standoff with the suspect, who did not comply with police orders to come out of the home. The standoff took so long because there was information that there were other weapons inside the home, Schnell said.

The rest of the family members were able to leave the house unharmed before the Ramsey County SWAT team eventually entered to retrieve Chue Vang. Pang Vang was found injured, barricaded in a bedroom.

The Ramsey County medical examiners office is analyzing Chue Vang's body to determine a cause of death.

The shooting, which happened a stone's throw from City Hall, was Maplewood's first homicide this year.

Mee Vang, 63, a niece of Pang Vang, said her uncle would frequently make threats to kill his family and said they were "bad," but his wife didn't think he would actually harm someone.

"I think the dad had a lot of problems with his children," Mee Vang said.

Schnell said he was unaware of any previous reports of incidents at the home. Chue Vang owned the home that he shared with his parents and other family. Police learned during the investigation that Pang Vang had made threats before and that there was conflict between the father and son, but authorities are still trying to determine what prompted the shooting Monday, Schnell said.

"It is highly unusual," Schnell said about the case.

According to family, Pang Vang didn't have a documented history of mental illness, Schnell said. He did have a military background. The family immigrated from Laos.

Pang Vang's son was described by a visiting cousin as "one of the good guys." Zang Vang, 40, said Chue Vang, was single, attended college in St. Cloud and went to church.

"I cannot believe this," Zang Chang, said about the shooting.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting police with the investigation.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-925-5032