SAN FRANCISCO—A shopkeeper in San Francisco who was previously charged with murder has been charged a second time. Hong Ri Wu, 64, was previously convicted in 2014 for a double homicide he committed in 2011.  

According to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, at 8:00 p.m. on January 30, during the Chinese New Year celebration, Wu walked into the souvenir shop at 269 Jefferson Street with a gun and shot Feng Ping Ou, 30, in the chest. Wu then walked to the back of the store and shot Qiong Han Chu, 30. 

An officer from the San Francisco Police Department arrived on the scene in response to complaints. Wu was sitting on a stool outside the shop and a security guard was standing close by. The security guard informed the officer that Wu shot two people, and directed him to Wu’s gun on a glass countertop. The officer observed Ms. Ou’s body and detained Wu while waiting for additional officers and an ambulance to arrive on the scene. The officer confirmed Mr. Chu had been shot and appeared to be deceased.

“These were brutal executions in an iconic neighborhood that left two families without their loved ones,” said District Attorney George Gascón. “We thank the jury for their service, and for sending a clear message that violence will not be tolerated.”

Wu rented and operated the souvenir shop at 269a Jefferson Street from the same landlord who rented the adjacent shop to the victims. An ongoing disagreement between Wu, the landlord and the victims about the terms of their lease was a motive in the murders.

Wu’s trial occurred in two phases because of his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The guilt/innocence phase began in September 2018. On September 27, the jury found Wu guilty of two counts of second degree murder and an allegation that he personally used a firearm during the commission of the murders. The second phase of Wu’s trial concerning his sanity at the time the murders began on October 1, 2018. The jury began deliberations on October 5, and returned a verdict on October 10 finding Wu sane at the time of the murders.

Written By Ophelia Luchin and Donald Roberts