Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
A young Asian-American woman has been shot and killed in Georgia just one week before her 26th birthday.
Police have not linked the killing of Carmen Cai Yi Lee, the daughter of Malaysian immigrants, with any motive as of yet but it comes at a time where growing violence against people of Asian descent has prompted US President Biden to sign legislation designed to tackle the problem.
The young woman was killed in Doraville outside the city of Atlanta in the US state of Georgia while driving home from a pal’s barbecue on 29th May.
The Doraville police said that an officer noticed the 25-year-old woman’s car on the roadside at around 9.30pm.
After the cop found Lee unresponsive in the front seat, he started to administer first aid and noticed that she had been shot. She was later confirmed dead at the scene.
According to local media, there have been at least 30 shootings in Atlanta and surrounding areas so far this year with Lee confirmed as the 10th person to be killed while driving or travelling in a car.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) said many of the shootings were attributed to road rage and most cases are still unsolved.
Meanwhile, the police are appealing for help from the public to help track down Lee’s alleged killer.
Her boyfriend, name not disclosed, said that she was worried about the increasing gun crime in the area and had even started carrying pepper spray with her.
The victim’s Malaysian parents migrated to the US before she was born and she is the eldest of three children, according to the boyfriend.
He also called the victim “selfless” and “the most gentle soul” he knew.
She reportedly worked as a financial portfolio analyst and graduated in finance from the University of Georgia in 2018.
The victim’s younger brother has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise cash for her family to pay for funeral and memorial costs.
The brother wrote: “I am devastated knowing that my sister won’t be there for my most important moments.
“Being the older child meant she had the most responsibility. She was put in the position of taking care of our parents and her younger siblings.
“Yet, even with all that responsibility on her shoulders, she never gave in, but persevered through her hardships to get to where she was.”
The investigation continues.
Neither police or her family have so far linked the shooting to hate crime, however other Asian victims include an elderly Thai immigrant who died after being shoved to the ground. A Filipino-American was slashed in the face with a box cutter, and a Chinese woman was slapped and then set on fire.
Eight people we also killed in a shooting rampage across three Asian spas in one night.
