Khoua Yang, a 36-year-old Asian man from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area, was visiting Saint Paul, Minnesota, for a family wedding in the fall of 2023. According to his obituary, he was a husband and a brother. His trip ended in tragedy in the early morning hours of October 1, 2023.
In the hours leading up to his death, Yang and the group he traveled with met Jason Moua, an Oklahoma resident who was also in town for a wedding.
After visiting some local bars, an argument broke out between Yang and Moua while they were together in a vehicle. The conflict escalated when the car stopped, and the fight spilled onto the street in the 2100 block of Scenic Place in Saint Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood. According to a witness, Moua produced a pistol and tried to strike Yang with it. As others attempted to intervene, both men fell to the ground. The witness then heard a gunshot and saw Moua shoot Yang as he tried to get up.
After the shooting, Moua allegedly threatened the other people present, warning them not to report what had happened before he was dropped off at a separate location. Fearing for their safety, the witnesses who had been with Yang drove back to Milwaukee. Police responded to a report of a shooting around 2:10 a.m. and found Yang unresponsive with a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. His death marked the 26th homicide in Saint Paul that year.
Investigators recovered a cellphone at the scene that was later traced to 44-year-old Jason Moua. A search of the phone revealed text messages Moua had sent about his desire to obtain a firearm during his visit. A witness who had been with Yang on the night of the shooting later gave a statement to police in Milwaukee, providing a detailed account of the events that led to Moua's arrest.
Jason Moua was charged with murder. In February 2024, he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison for the killing of Khoua Yang.
