Nov. 12, 2007: Family grieves after birthday killing

Toua Yang was celebrating his 21st birthday Saturday afternoon with friends and his younger brother, Meng Yang, when what they thought were firecrackers rang through the barbecue in his parents'
back yard in north Minneapolis.

"We just sort of crouched and ran into the garage," Toua Yang said Sunday as he surveyed the crime scene.

Yang emerged from the garage and saw two men lying on the ground.
Realizing that it was gunfire, not firecrackers, that had shattered the revelry, he ran into the house to call the police. Yang said he saw a shadowy figure standing beneath a towering pine in the neighbor's front yard, from which about 10 shots had originated.

He didn't realize until later that his brother had been fatally shot and that their friend Sheng Vang was critically wounded.

Meng Yang died at the scene. Vang remained in critical condition Sunday evening at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

Toua Yang doesn't remember many other details. "You're just in shock," he said. "You just want to call the police ... and wake up the next morning and hope it was a dream."

Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Jesse Garcia said there have been no arrests and there are no suspect descriptions. Police would not discuss a possible motive, but Garcia said it's "very rare"
that violent crimes are committed against total strangers.

One of Meng Yang's cousins said Saturday that the shooting might be gang-related, but Toua Yang and the brothers' mother, Yer Vang, denied that Sunday.

Vang said her son, who graduated from the Hmong Academy in St.
Paul, had stayed out of trouble.

"I just want people to know that he isn't a bad person," she said as dozens of relatives gathered at the home Sunday to plan funeral arrangements.

Meng Yang worked on and off for a temp agency and spent most of his time with his girlfriend, said his brother. He loved to play basketball and was figuring out his life. "He was still young,"
Toua Yang said.

Meng Yang's mother and brother said they don't know why someone would target him. They wondered if guests at the party might have been the intended targets.

Garcia said he has worked in north Minneapolis for about eight years and can't recall other incidents at the home.

Toua Yang said the shooting has made it difficult for his family to be in their own back yard.

"Come forward," he said in a plea to the person or people responsible. "Come face what you did to our family. It's hard to sleep at night."