A California 8-year-old adopted three years ago from Taiwan was killed Monday night in a drive-by shooting that police are struggling to explain.
Jonah Min Hwang, his parents and his adoptive brother were visiting the Pomona home of a family from their church when at least four shots were fired into the house, NBC4 in Los Angeles reported. Jonah, who was struck once in the head, died a short time later at a local hospital.
Police officials told the news station that they have no motive for Monday’s drive-by, or for another that occurred at the same house a month ago. No one was home during the first shooting.
"This was a truly innocent family," Pomona police Lt. Eddie Vasquez said about the residents of the home.
The news station described the home’s residents as teachers who are very active in Pomona’s First Presbyterian Church, along with the Hwang family. The church is known for its after-school program for at-risk youth.
Jonah’s mother, Karen Hwang, serves on the program’s board of directors, NBC4 reported.
Johnny and Karen Hwang issued a statement about their son's death, which was posted on a GoFundMe page created to help them with Jonah's funeral costs. In it, they described their devastation as "unfathomable."
"We welcomed Jonah into our family less than three years ago, after adopting him from an orphanage in Taiwan," the statement reads. "He had an infectious smile and loved everyone and everything: sports, wrestling with his dad, running, laughing, superheroes. With his playful demeanor, he adapted almost immediately to life in the United States and became a full-blooded American in no time at all.
“Jonah was a light and joy in our household and we cannot imagine our family without him.”
As of Wednesday morning, the fundraising page had raised nearly triple the goal of $10,000.
Vasquez told NBC4 that investigators are canvassing the neighborhood hoping to learn even the smallest bit of information about the person responsible for Jonah's slaying. He also expressed hope that the shooter's conscience might play a role in his arrest.
"I'm sure it was not their intention to kill an 8-year-old child," Vasquez said. "Now that they know that information, the right thing to do is to step forward and own what they did."
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