Won-Joon Yoon, a 26-year-old Korean graduate student, was tragically murdered on July 2, 1999, in Bloomington, Indiana. Yoon had recently completed his master's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Carbondale and was preparing to start his doctoral studies at Indiana University. On the morning of his death, Yoon was on his way to the Korean United Methodist Church when he was shot twice in the back by Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a 21-year-old white supremacist, who fired from a passing car.
Smith's rampage began on July 2, 1999, and spanned across Illinois and Indiana, targeting racial and ethnic minorities in a series of drive-by shootings. Over the course of three days, Smith killed two people, including Yoon and former Northwestern University basketball coach Ricky Byrdsong, an African-American, and injured nine others. Smith's actions were driven by his affiliation with the white supremacist organization known as the World Church of the Creator.
The investigation into Yoon's murder revealed that Smith had a history of promoting racist views and distributing hate-filled leaflets on university campuses. Smith's shooting spree ended on July 4, 1999, when he committed suicide by shooting himself as police closed in on him during a high-speed chase. The tragic events of that weekend left a lasting impact on the communities affected by Smith's violence, and memorial services continue to be held in Yoon's honor.
