It’s been one year since Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang were randomly attacked and killed in two separate assaults in Edmonton’s Chinatown.
On Friday, a memorial was held to remember them.
“We think of him everyday,” said Christina Trang, Hung’s daughter.
She said she was grateful to have loved ones around her but acknowledged it was a very difficult day.
“It’s very triggering remembering what happened a year ago. On this day, we were in the hospital saying goodbye to him in ICU.”
On May 18, the two men, both in their 60s, were fatally attacked by a stranger at their businesses one block apart. Justin Bone, 36, was charged with second-degree murder in both deaths.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 26.
The deaths were part of a rash of violence that week in Chinatown. Over the span of about 48 hours, police said there was a shooting outside a pub near Jasper Avenue, a pedestrian collision and a stabbing at the Bay-Enterprise LRT station, in addition to other lesser crimes and calls officers responded to.
“As I reflect on the one-year anniversary of my father’s passing, I can’t help but question if anything has truly changed,” Trang said on Friday.
“Has our city become any safer? Have things improved? A year ago, social disorder was rampant in Chinatown and downtown, causing Edmontonians to feel unsafe in their own city.”
She mentioned the safety plan Edmonton city council created in response to Justice Minister Tyler Shandro invoking the Police Act.
“The current approach is not working,” she said.
“In the past year, the city has done the opposite by increasing shelter spaces and approving a 75,000-square foot social agency in the heart of Chinatown.”
Boyle Street Community Services is planning to open Okimaw Peyesiw Kamik (OPK), also called King Thunderbird Centre, at 107A Avenue and 101 Street.
The centre is not a shelter but it will provide supports to thousands of people across Edmonton. It will also serve as headquarters for more than 150 employees.
The organization announced it reached 80 per cent of its $28.5 million fundraising goal in March.
Trang cited the concentration of shelters and social agencies in the area as one of the major issues.
“We sincerely appreciate the deployment of the Healthy Streets Operation Centres but no amount of money can resolve social disorder without deconcentrating social services.
“We need to see action and long-term plans, not just empty promises announced in response to the justice minister.”
The Healthy Streets Operation Centre is a hub in Edmonton’s Chinatown where social workers, firefighters and peace officers work together to reduce crime.
“Things are starting to change but it will take more than just Healthy Streets Operations Centres for true lasting change,” Trang said.
“Mr. Mayor, councillors, focusing on marketing plans and the beautification of neighbourhoods while people and businesses are driven out by social disorder are not a good use of your time and tax dollars.”
Edmonton Police Service Chief Dale McFee attended Friday’s memorial, as did Mayor Amarjeet Sohi.
The community has been calling for support from all levels of government to reduce crime and support businesses in the area for years.
The two men’s deaths sparked outrage over the high crime rates in Chinatown and prompted calls to halt the release of incarcerated offenders into Edmonton’s core.
The man accused of killing them was dropped off in the city by RCMP days before, despite a court order saying he couldn’t be in Edmonton.
Since the two deaths, $5 million over two years was approved by council for the HSOC and more than $10 million was committed to infrastructure improvements in Chinatown in the city’s 2023-2026 capital budget.
Sohi said he agrees not enough is being done but he says the province also has to step up.
“We have increased enforcement, we have increased the opening of HSOC, investing more in housing. We just extended the grant funding for day shelters.
“But there’s limited amount of resources… That’s why it’s so important we continue to work with the provincial government to convince them that we have solutions, let’s start scaling up those solutions.”
Chinatown businesses temporarily closed from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to remember Trang and Hoang.
“It’s important for us to do so to always remember their lives and their contribution to Chinatown and that these things happen around us and in the community around us and if the city doesn’t help us by stepping in and providing support, these things will continue to happen,” said Taresa He.
“If we as a community don’t join together and fight for this, nobody else is going to.”
She’s been a waitress at 97 Hot Pot for six years and says the area’s problems have worsened over that time. She says while there’s recently been more police officers in the area, there are also more tents, open drug use, violence, thefts and vandalism.
“It’s not safe for us in Chinatown and that creates a big toll on the businesses here because a lot of people aren’t going to want to come to Chinatown. They don’t want to see that. They don’t want to experience that. They don’t want to be in danger.”
She says funding and clean-up support was provided right after the attacks but that overall, not much has changed.
“There hasn’t been any changes in relocating certain buildings, facilities. It’s still a danger here in Chinatown.”
Trang said she’s passionate about advocating for public safety and preventing violence in Chinatown.
“Any family should not have to experience what we’ve gone through… Safety should be number one to everybody who lives in the city.”
She said she hopes her father’s death wasn’t in vain.
“He sacrificed his life here, and bringing safety to Edmonton would be very important to us. I’d like him to be remembered and honoured that way — his life brought safety to Edmonton.”