60-Year-Old Woman Fatally Shot in Oakland’s Little Saigon Neighborhood

A 60-year-old woman who was shot and killed in Oakland’s Little Saigon neighborhood on Sunday afternoon has been identified.

Lili Xu was murdered on 5th Avenue and East 11th street just after 2:00 p.m., according to officials via local news outlets.

Nelson Chia, Xu’s partner, told KGO that both were on their way to a massage appointment when a white sedan approached the vehicle.

In surveillance footage of the shooting, which is also being used in the police investigation, a white sedan can be seen pulling up to the parked vehicle that Chia and Xu are in, and a person then gets out. Moments later, a woman can be heard screaming before three gunshots were heard.

The suspect then returns to the white vehicle before driving off.

Chia said he held Xu’s body for 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived on the scene.

In a statement on Monday, Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas stated that “people who perpetrate these violent crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice,” per KTVU.

“What does it say about our community when we cannot walk down our own street, visit a neighbor, or enjoy a picnic on the lake on a Sunday afternoon? We can and must do better,” she added.

While Bas claimed at the press conference on Monday that Xu’s murder was part of an attempted robbery, Oakland police believe Sunday’s shooting was not a part of a robbery, KGO reported.

Police have released few details about the incident as the investigation is still ongoing.

Xu’s murder is the second to have taken place in the Little Saigon neighborhood within the past month.

According to data from the Oakland Police Department (OPD), recorded homicide and robberies rates have relatively stayed the same from this time last year in August, only dipping slightly. Documented homicides dropped from 81 to 77, while documented robberies went down from 1,746 to 1,713.

There has been a ten percent increase in robberies in the Little Saigon neighborhood from July 2021 to July 2022, according to the OPD via the San Francisco Chronicle.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.