Lea Mek was 18 when he was killed inside a pool hall in El Monte, California, on December 3, 1993. A Cambodian refugee and member of the Asian Boyz, Mek arrived armed with a .45 caliber pistol. About twenty members of rival Wah Ching entered the hall that evening; a confrontation followed after Mek reportedly glared at the newcomers and displayed his weapon.

Surveillance cameras inside the pool hall recorded the struggle. Nineteen-year-old Chieu Luong Yang, known as China Dog, tackled Mek and, with help from others, tried to drag him outside. During the fracas Yang grabbed Mek’s pistol and another Wah Ching member began firing. Mek was pulled outside, broke free, was chased back in and was shot multiple times, including fatal head wounds. Officer Greg Carroll arrived to a scene with the odor of gunpowder and patrons in shock.

The footage identified Yang as the primary assailant; he was arrested, convicted of murder and given a life sentence. A second participant pleaded guilty and received ten years. Mek’s killing escalated violence between the gangs and is tied to a wave of retaliatory attacks in the Los Angeles area, including a subsequent drive-by at a San Marino High School graduation party that killed two youths. Did anyone who was at the pool hall that night come forward with details not shown on the surveillance tapes?