On the night of August 28, 1993, a gathering of Vietnamese youths was taking place on the 500 block of NE 80th in Portland, Oregon. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the party was tragically interrupted by gunfire. A red van, later identified as a 1979 Chevrolet with a yellow stripe, drove by, and a passenger opened fire on a group standing outside. Nineteen-year-old Tien Hoang Truong, a Vietnamese male from Seattle, was struck by the gunfire and died at the scene.
Tien was reportedly a
member of a Vietnamese gang based in Seattle that had strong connections to a local gang in Portland. The motive for the shooting is believed to be related to these gang affiliations. The sudden violence shattered the evening, leaving a young man's life cut short and a community in shock. The festive atmosphere of the party turned into a scene of chaos and tragedy in an instant.
Witnesses at the scene described the shooter as a Vietnamese man, approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing around 140 pounds, with black hair. Despite this description and details about the vehicle, the assailant managed to escape. The case has since gone cold, and no arrests have been made in the decades following the incident. The Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit continues to seek information from the public, and Crime Stoppers of Oregon offers a cash reward for any tips that lead to an arrest in this unsolved murder.
