DENVER — Four suspects are in custody and Denver police are seeking an additional suspect after a stray bullet struck and killed a mother unloading a car with her children on July 15.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Denver Police Department held a press conference to announce that it had arrested three suspects and identified a fourth in connection with the death of Ma Kaing, 47. The fourth suspect was arrested shortly after the press conference.
The suspects in custody were identified as:
- 20-year-old Nu Ra Ah La, arrested in Denver on Aug. 29
- 20-year-old Lu Reh, arrested in Denver on Aug. 29
- Pa Reh, 18, in custody in Arapahoe County on an unrelated charge
- Swa Bay, 19, arrested in Byers on Aug. 30
During the press conference, Cmdr. Matt Clark with DPD said they believe a fifth person discharged a firearm in the same incident, though that person has not yet been identified. He said they are seeking to arrest that individual.
All four suspects face multiple charges, including first-degree murder, first-degree murder with extreme indifference, attempted first-degree murder after intent and with deliberation, attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, and illegal discharge of a firearm.
Kaing was a mother to four children and had recently opened Taw Win Oo at the corner of Yosemite Street and E. 11th Avenue in Aurora.
On July 15 around 11:30 p.m., she and her children arrived home to the Hidden Brook Apartments along the 1300 block of Xenia Street after a late night at the restaurant. Around the same time, multiple suspects were exchanging gunfire in New Freedom Park, just south of the apartments, Cmdr. Clark said.
The group of suspects noticed a vehicle they did not recognize driving around the park and "didn't believe the vehicle belonged in the area," Clark said. Each suspect was armed with a firearm and shot multiple rounds at the driver as they passed on 13th Avenue, he said.
At the same time, Kaing and her family were unloading a car nearby. She was struck by a stray bullet.
She was pronounced deceased at the scene. Nobody else was injured.
"Ms. Kaing was totally innocent — had no involvement, didn't have any connection to the individuals involved," Clark said.
Detectives found more than three dozen shell casings fired from multiple firearms. They also found bullets and damage to nearby buildings and cars.
In the days after the shooting, investigators spoke with family, neighbors, and witnesses, and collected evidence, which led to officers identifying the four suspects. They also recovered four firearms as of Tuesday afternoon.
Clark said police believe the shooting was gang-related.
"They may or may not have realized what was in their backdrop and they just indiscriminately fired over three dozen rounds in that direction," Clark said. "It's a residential area. It's extremely tragic and senseless that the result is the death of Ma."
While Kaing's family did not want to be present for the press conference, her oldest son, Kyaw Lwin "John" Oo, provided the following statement, which Clark read:
"First, I would like to thank Det. Estrada and the whole department for working this case. I want to thank them for how quickly this case was solved, as it was quicker than I assumed. My family and I hope all of the people involved are caught and convicted. I hope that gang members look at these situations and make changes in their lives. Stop terrorizing people. I hope that families will look at this situation and pay attention to their kids. I hope there are less bad people in this world so these tragedies do not happen, so families do not lose loved ones. These people should be ashamed of themselves. They should be ashamed of their choices and actions. Again, I cannot express enough gratitude for the work that went into catching these people."
In the days after the shooting, Oo spoke with Denver7 and described hearing the bullets and yelling for everybody to get down.
"I looked around and I saw my mother's body and I saw that she had a wound to the head. That's when I started yelling for help — I pressed down on the wound too," Oo said.
His sister called authorities and provided an address.
"And then they told her, 'This is the wrong county,'" Oo said.
A spokesperson for the City of Aurora said the dispatcher stayed on the phone until the call was transferred to a Denver dispatcher. The hold time was three minutes and 50 seconds. After three minutes and 50 seconds of holding, the call was transferred to a Denver dispatcher.
"That's valuable time wasted. I don't really understand why," Oo said.
Denver7 confirmed the 911 calls placed the night Kaing died should have routed to Denver's dispatchers. Because Hidden Brook Apartments borders Aurora, some calls pinged off of the closest cell tower in Aurora, and those were placed on hold as Aurora's dispatchers transferred calls.
Denver's 911 director, Andrew Dameron, maintained that the calls placed on hold didn't delay emergency crews.
"When Aurora got that first 911 call, they got a little bit of information, then initiated the transfer. When they heard the hold message, they got on the radio and gave us (in Denver) a heads up," he said.
Dameron said the radio call allowed officers and EMS to arrive on scene in about five minutes following the initial dispatch. Despite this, the director said he recognized 911 calls needed to be routed with more specificity.
"As an industry, 911 is already pushing the FCC to mandate location-based routing, which means when you dial 911, your call is routed based on the location of your mobile device," Dameron said.
In an interview with Denver7, Oo also said dispatchers hung up during various 911 calls — an allegation denied by spokespersons from both Denver and Aurora.
He said he believes if EMS had arrived sooner and if communication had been better, his mother may have had a greater chance of survival.
His family is now calling for changes to 911 operations between Denver and Aurora.
READ MORE: Residents in East Colfax neighborhood claim poor 911 service, push for better response
In late July, a reward for information on this shooting increased to $10,000.