Two Shot in Lake Sammamish Park Include Laos Family Man, Family Offended by Speculation

Two men are dead and four injured from a barrage of gunshots fired around 9 p.m. at a party on July 17 at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, reported the Seattle Times. Yang Keovongphet, 33, of Kent, and Justin Cunningham, 30, of South Seattle, were killed that night when an altercation between two groups erupted into gunfire at the park.The King County Sheriff’s Office says members of both groups have gang affiliations and is investigating whether that played a role in the shootings. Relatives of both slain men say they were not gang members. The Sheriff’s Office has said most members of the groups that clashed at the park were of Asian descent. Keovongphet was of Laotian descent while Cunningham was white. Keovongphet’s stepsister Sakorn Keopanya told the Seattle Times her family did not wish to discuss the shootings. She earlier had disputed reports that Keovongphet was affiliated with a gang. “In our culture, respect and privacy is important,” she said. “People are making judgments that are wrong and hurtful to all of us. What does it help, after he’s gone, for people to offer speculation and stereotypes? Just because there were a lot of Asians in one place does not mean it was an Asian gang.”