On April 28, 2022, 38-year-old Daniel 'Dan' Vang was fatally shot in his family home located in the 2000 block of James Avenue North, Minneapolis. The incident occurred close to midnight, and officers responded to a report of a man screaming for help and claiming he had shot his brother. Upon arrival, police found Dan Vang with gunshot wounds to his neck and hand, struggling to breathe. Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:11 a.m.
Dan Vang lived at the home with his mother and another sibling, although his mother was not present at the time of the shooting.
The suspect in the case was identified as Dan Vang's brother, 40-year-old Fong Vang. Fong Vang had recently lost his housing and was temporarily staying at the family home, sleeping on the living room floor. According to the criminal complaint, Fong Vang admitted to shooting his brother but claimed he did not know what triggered him to do so. He mentioned that he sleeps with his gun and other belongings by his side. On the night of the incident, he was awakened by a noise at the front door and, in a state of confusion, opened fire.
Fong Vang was charged with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of his brother. During the investigation, another sibling who was asleep upstairs at the time of the shooting reported hearing three gunshots with noticeable pauses between them. This sibling expressed fear of Fong Vang and suspected he might have been under the influence of drugs due to his erratic behavior.
In June 2022, Fong Vang pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison, with the expectation that he would serve approximately three years and eight months behind bars, followed by supervised release. The tragic incident left the Vang family and the local community in shock, grappling with the senseless loss of a loved one.
