In the early hours of a Monday in Phoenix, Arizona, a long-simmering dispute tragically boiled over, leaving two men dead. On March 12, 2018, 26-year-old Lual Deng and 52-year-old Wol Ding were fatally shot in the parking lot of an apartment complex near 19th and Glendale avenues. Arriving at the scene, police discovered both men suffering from gunshot wounds.
Ding was pronounced dead at the scene, while Deng was transported to a local hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Investigations into the double homicide revealed that the shooting was the culmination of an ongoing conflict between Deng and Ding and another individual. This third person had reportedly anticipated a confrontation and had brought two friends, brothers Lloyd and Devane Lambert, for support. When the parties met, a physical altercation quickly escalated into an exchange of gunfire. Both Lual Deng and Wol Ding were armed during the fatal encounter.
Later that same day, the Lambert brothers presented themselves to detectives at police headquarters. One of them had sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound during the shootout. Investigators determined that both Lloyd, 32, and Devane, 30, were prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions. They were subsequently arrested and booked on charges of misconduct involving weapons.
Lual Deng was a man who had already overcome immense challenges in his young life. He and his family had arrived in the United States as refugees from a camp in Kenya, having fled the conflict in their native South Sudan. He was instrumental in helping his mother raise his four younger brothers, taking on significant responsibility from a young age. His death sent shockwaves through his family and the wider South Sudanese community in the U.S., where they were well-known and respected. A fundraiser was established to help his grieving family with funeral and burial expenses.
