20-Year Old Hmong Man Killed At Sheboygan Wal-Mart

On Sunday, Janaury 8, 2011, at approximately 12:30 A.M., Pheng Lee was shot and killed outside of a Wal-Mart in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was 20 years old.The son of Pa Cha Lee and Doua Yang, Pheng was one of seven children. He was a junior at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, where he lived, and he studied Business. It was an unfortunate fate that while he was on winter break from school, returning to Sheboygan to spend time with his family, would mean the trip that led to the end of his life.

Making a run for chips and dip at the south-side Wal-Mart, Lee left his parent’s home with three of his friends from high school. The plan was to grab some snacks and get back home to watch a movie. It was in the Wal-Mart parking lot that Lee was suddenly shot in the chest during a confrontation with suspected gang members. The confrontation left Lee dead and one friend, Chenglong Moua, critically injured. When the police officers arrived, they found a 20-year-old male from Milwaukee (Lee) and a 21-year-old male from Sheboygan who had both sustained critical injuries after being struck by gunfire. Police said the Lee and his friends got into a fight with a 21-year-old man and that man killed him. Lee died of his injuries at St. Nicholas Hospital.

During the 911 calls made from inside that Sheboygan Wal-Mart, one of the friends that accompanied Lee announced that he had been shot and that Kou Yang, 21, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin had been identified as the shooter. Yang, who has a history of violent behavior, has not yet officially been charged with the assault.

“[Pheng] was just your typical young 20-year-old, but a really good guy who didn’t deserve this,” said Chong Lee, 25, Lee’s sister. “You don’t expect this, not in Sheboygan, for your brother to get shot and killed. He was just home for the weekend for the school break. [He was] very giving — that’s one thing that my little brother had that I was surprised at for his age and being a college kid. He told me he had just been saving forever to buy the family Christmas gifts…everyone got something.”

The family has established a memorial fund to help support the family and to pay for funeral expenses. Anyone wishing to donate can inquire about the Pheng Lee Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo location or visit www.phengleememorialfund.com

"You just always think he's going to come back home, and he's not here," said Chong Lee, his sister.  "I want to know why it happened."

Additional information provided by The Sheboygan Press

By Elizabeth Thao

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