Shooting death of beloved dentist caught on video shocks California community
UPDATE: A 73-year-old man is accused of orchestrating a beloved dentist’s murder-for-hire death, California authorities said.
Two men, Lili Xu’s boyfriend and a 33-year-old man, were arrested more than two months after the beloved dentist’s fatal shooting in Oakland’s Little Saigon, the Oakland Police Department and Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said at a joint news conference on Friday, Oct. 28.
The original story is below.
Lili Xu just celebrated her 60th birthday this August.
Xu, a beloved dentist in the Oakland, California, area, took ballet lessons in her spare time, KGO-TV reported.
“She’s very kind. Very loving. And very passionate for life, for everything,” said Xu’s ballet teacher, Eve Zhang, during a vigil for Xu, according to the outlet.
Xu was killed in an attempted robbery on Sunday, Aug. 21, the Oakland Police Department confirmed in an email to McClatchy News.
Xu was exiting her parked car on 5th Avenue in Oakland’s Little Saigon on Sunday when an “older white model four-door Lexus” pulled up next to her, according to a news release from the Oakland Police Department.
Within a matter of seconds, someone exits a Lexus and approaches Xu, a video released from the police department shows.
Police said the person “appears to attempt to rob her” and then shoots multiple times at Xu before entering and fleeing in the Lexus.
Xu “sustained multiple gunshot wounds” and was taken to a hospital where she later died, officials said.
Her death has left the community in dismay.
“Everybody’s so angry and just shocked,” The Mercury News reported Zhang saying.
Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, who represents the district where Xu was killed, said she’s “outraged and sickened over the senseless, brutal slaying.”
“People who perpetrate these violent crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice,” Fortunato Bas said on Twitter.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong described Xu’s killing as a “heinous act” at a news conference Monday, Aug. 22
“This crime was senseless,” Armstrong said. “The Little Saigon area has been impacted by violence over the last several weeks and is truly unfortunate.”
Xu’s death was the 77th homicide in Oakland this year and the second reported on Sunday, Armstrong said.
Uber driver Kon Fung, 52, was also killed in an attempted robbery in East Oakland on July 17, McClatchy News previously reported.
Police said they believe there are witnesses to Xu’s death. Specifically, officials are hoping to talk to the occupants of a “white four-door Tesla” that was in the area with a “distinctive roof rack, as well as a bike rack on the rear.”
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 510-238-7950.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Shooting death of beloved dentist caught on video shocks California community."
