In the late hours of September 4, 2016, a gathering in Kent, Washington, turned deadly for 39-year-old Huy Huynh of Tukwila. At a house located on the 500 block of Fourth Avenue South, what began as a social evening with drinks took a violent and tragic turn.
An argument erupted when Huynh decided to go to bed, refusing to continue drinking with 28-year-old Quang Ngoc Dinh of Seattle. Angered by this refusal, Dinh produced a handgun and fatally shot Huynh.
The violence did not end there; Dinh also shot and injured a woman at the residence as she attempted to close a back door. The injured woman managed to escape and ran to a nearby fire station to seek help. Paramedics transported her to Valley Medical Center in Renton for a non-life-threatening head wound.
When Kent Police arrived at the scene, they found Dinh and took him into custody. A search revealed a handgun in his waistband and two fully loaded ammunition magazines in his pocket. His shirt and pants were stained with blood. Dinh was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and first-degree assault.
Initially, Quang Ngoc Dinh pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, he later pleaded guilty. In January 2018, a King County Superior Court judge sentenced Dinh to 30 years in prison for the murder of Huy Huynh and the assault on the woman.
