On November 16, 1989, 13-year-old Thai Yang was shot and killed by an Inver Grove Heights police officer after a pursuit that began when he and a friend, 13-year-old Basee Lor, escaped from a juvenile correctional facility in St. Paul. The boys were observed in a stolen car, and a chase ended in a field in Inver Grove Heights where Officer Kenneth E. Murphy confronted them. Murphy said he believed one of the boys was holding a weapon and fired his shotgun; what was later identified as a screwdriver, not a firearm, had been mistaken for a weapon. Both boys were struck and died of their injuries.

The deaths reverberated through the St. Paul Hmong community, whose leaders and family members demanded a transparent investigation and questioned the use of deadly force against two unarmed teenagers. Officer Murphy was not criminally charged. The families filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Officer Murphy and the City of Inver Grove Heights seeking accountability.

If anyone knew Thai Yang or has information about that day, please share what you can.