Man Convicted In 1994 Graduation Party Massacre In US Arrested In Los Angeles Raids
A 49-year-old Vietnamese national, convicted in a notorious gang-related mass shooting, is among several illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in a weekend raid across Los Angeles that triggered violent protests.
Cuong Chanh Phan was convicted of second-degree murder for his role in a deadly 1994 shooting at a high school graduation party in Southern California. According to the Department of Homeland Security, after being thrown out of the party, Phan returned with gang members and opened fire with semi-automatic rifles on a crowd of 30 people.
Two teens, Dennis Buan, 18, and David Hang, 15 - were killed, and seven others were injured. A manhunt involving over 120 officers led to Phan's arrest along with eight other alleged gang members linked to the attack.
"This criminal illegal alien is who Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass and the rioters in Los Angeles are trying to protect over US citizens," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement issued on Monday.
"It is sickening that Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass continue to protect violent criminal illegal aliens at the expense of the safety of American citizens and communities," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Phan's arrest was one among dozens made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a targeted operation in LA over the weekend. Several of those detained were convicted criminals with charges ranging from sexual assault to gang activity and murder.
Another major arrest was Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, 55, a Philippine national, who was sentenced to 37 years in prison for assault with intent to commit rape and sexual penetration with a foreign object in Pomona, California.
As news of the arrests broke, protestors gathered across the city to oppose the detentions, even surrounding a downtown ICE detention centre where they believed the detainees were being held. Chaos escalated until President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to intervene.
An ICE source told The NY Post, "That's who they're protesting for, the actual criminals that are being arrested, the sex offenders, the terrorists, all that. You have criminals, gang members, terrorists, child molesters, and sex offenders that are being arrested, but since people don't know the background of the case or what's going on, everybody's innocent."
"The public sees it as everybody's innocent, which is not true," the source added.
Other individuals arrested include Armando Ordaz, 44, a Mexican national and alleged Bratz 13 gang member convicted of sexual battery; Delfino Aguilar-Martinez, 51, convicted of assault with a deadly weapon; Lionel Sanchez-Laguna, 55, with convictions for firing at an inhabited dwelling, domestic battery, child cruelty, assault with a firearm, and a DUI; and Victor Mendoza-Aguilar, 32, convicted of drug possession and assault with a deadly weapon.
ICE reported that others detained had criminal convictions for drug dealing, robbery, grand larceny, and transporting "illegal aliens."
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