This story hasn't gotten much attention outside the Charlotte media, and I think it deserves to be heard. Another gun tragedy struck just after dusk on July 4, 2014. A 47-year-old father of four who was selling food at a festival celebrating the opening of a Buddhist temple was struck by a stray bullet and left partially paralyzed.
His name is Brandon Yam.
Brandon Yam (right) and son
Brandon Yam, 47, was selling food and drinks with his wife and two of his children at a festival celebrating the opening of the Cambodian Buddhist Temple, at 219 Owen Blvd. in Charlotte.
About 9 p.m., as people at the temple started shooting off fireworks, Yam started to pack up his supplies to go home, his family said.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police reports indicate that around 9:25 p.m., Yam was struck “in the top of the head by a stray bullet.”
That Buddhist temple is less than a mile from my home. I heard the sirens and went to bed uneasy. That many sirens are never good at peak fireworks time, and the fireworks seemed louder than usual. My normally-fearless pets wouldn't go out.
They knew. There was more going on out there than fireworks.
“At this time it appears that it was not an intentional shooting but that someone had fired a celebration shot into the air,” [Charlotte Mecklenburg Police] spokeswoman Jessica Wallin said in a statement.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/...
Yesterday, Mr. Yam's wife Sopheap Kim begged the shooter to come forward ... but not because she wants to press charges.
She doesn't want justice, but she needs the gunman to give doctors one piece of information that could save her husband's life.
Doctors said surgery to remove the bullet will be more difficult without knowing the caliber of bullet.
Ms. Kim asked only this:
"Please pray that some people that know anything just help us to ... I just don't know how to say," Kim said.
And why were Brandon Yam and his family working instead of "celebrating" on the Fourth of July in the first place?
Yam lost his job two months ago. He and his wife were serving food last week to make some money.
This isn't comforting:
As of last year, about 190 handgun permit holders lived within a mile of the shooting, according to an Observer analysis of county data. That does not include concealed carry permit holders, rifle owners or people who own guns illegally.
In an academic study from the University of California-Davis, researchers discovered that July is the deadliest stray bullet month, followed by June. Such incidents were most frequent during the summer.
This morning, Charlotte NPR affiliate
WFAE reported that Yam's condition has been upgraded to fair and he may be released from the hospital this week. He has qualified for medical assistance, but faces a long rehab.
The family is accepting donations through The Brandon Yam Donation Fund at Wells Fargo. I'm unable to find a link but will update if I do.
The words "celebration" and "shot" should never be used in the same sentence, especially in a major metropolitan area. The only word for this is heartbreaking.