On a tragic day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 6, 2016, the life of 36-year-old Phia Vue, an Asian male, was violently cut short in a senseless act of violence that also claimed the lives of his 32-year-old wife, Mai K. Vue, and a neighbor, Jesus R. Manso-Perez, age 40. The couple, who were Hmong, lived in a four-unit apartment building on the city's south side with their four children.
The horrific events of that Sunday evening began to unfold over what family members described as a
dispute over the use of a washing machine. The alleged shooter, 39-year-old Dan Popp, another resident of the building, first confronted and fatally shot Jesus Manso-Perez. Witnesses reported that Popp had asked Manso-Perez where he was from, and upon learning he was from Puerto Rico, made a derogatory comment about him not speaking English before opening fire.
Following the first shooting, Popp forced his way into the Vue family's apartment. Inside, he rounded up the family members, taking Phia Vue to the bathroom where he was shot and killed. Popp then forced Mai Vue and some of the children upstairs to his own apartment, where he fatally shot her. In a desperate bid for safety, one of the teenage children managed to escape through a window and alert a neighbor, who then called the police.
When law enforcement arrived at the scene, Dan Popp was reportedly firing shots into the sky with an assault rifle. Having run out of ammunition, he surrendered to the police and was taken into custody. A rifle and a handgun were recovered from the scene. Popp was subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
During the legal proceedings, Popp's defense attorneys raised questions about his mental competency, and he was initially deemed incompetent to stand trial. After treatment, the case proceeded, and a jury ultimately rejected his insanity defense, finding that while he was mentally ill, he was capable of understanding the criminality of his actions. In November 2017, Dan Popp was convicted of the three murders and in February 2018, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Though family members of the victims believed the crime was racially motivated, Popp was not charged with a hate crime. The tragedy left the Vue's four children orphaned and a community mourning the loss of three innocent lives.
