Huayi Bian, 36, was fatally shot on February 9, 2020, in Chicago’s Chinatown. The killing occurred in the parking lot of a Chinatown apartment building during an attempted robbery in which Bian and his friend Weizhong Xiong were both shot multiple times in the face and skull and died at the scene. A 44-year-old woman who had been with them complied with the robber and hid under a car and was not harmed.

Police identified and arrested 20-year-old Alvin Thomas shortly after the shooting. Surveillance footage and bloody footprints traced to Chinatown Square led officers to Thomas, who was found with blood on his shoes that reportedly matched the victims’ DNA. Thomas, who had a prior robbery and battery conviction and was on probation for a 2018 case, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and held without bond.

The murders prompted visible grief and calls for greater safety in the Chinatown community. If anyone knew Huayi Bian or saw activity in the apartment parking lot that night, please share information with investigators.