OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The Oakland Police Department announced Friday that it made two arrests in the August killing of Oakland dentist Lili Xu. At a news conference Friday afternoon, law enforcement officials said that Xu’s killing was not a random act, or a hate crime, but rather a targeted murder-for-hire killing.
Oakland resident Nelson Chia, 73, and Stockton resident Hasheem Bason, 33, were arrested in connection to the shooting. Xu, 60, was shot and killed in broad daylight on August 21 in the 1000 block of 5th Avenue as she was getting out of a car.
After the vehicle she was in stopped, another car pulled alongside it. A suspect approached the passenger’s side of the car before shooting and killing Xu. Police said she struggled to hang on to her valuables as she was accosted before the shots were fired.
“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,” Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said after the killing.
The incident was the second high-profile killing in Oakland’s Little Saigon neighborhood over the summer. Ride-share driver Kon Fung was also killed in a similar manner on July 17.
