Aung Oo

On the evening of November 12, 2023, Aung Oo, a 23-year-old Asian man, was shot and killed in Amarillo, Texas. At approximately 5:45 p.m., officers responded to a call in the 6500 block of NE 12th Avenue and found Mr. Oo on the ground outside his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics performed life-saving measures before he was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital, but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

The Amarillo Police Department’s Homicide Unit launched an intensive investigation, quickly identifying 25-year-old Aung Thuya as a person of interest. Surveillance footage from the neighborhood captured the entire incident. The video showed Thuya approaching Mr. Oo in the parking lot, pulling a firearm from his jacket, and shooting him multiple times. Thuya was also seen threatening a passenger who was with Mr. Oo. At the scene, investigators recovered eight spent 9mm casings. After a two-day search, officers located Thuya and placed him under surveillance.

Once arrest and search warrants were secured, police surrounded Thuya’s residence and took him into custody without incident. Subsequent searches of two homes connected to Thuya yielded what police described as crucial evidence related to the homicide. He was booked into the Potter County Jail and charged with murder.

The investigation uncovered a history of conflict between the families. According to court documents, Mr. Oo’s brother, Aung Nai Myo, had shot Thuya multiple times on March 7, 2022. At the time of his brother’s death, Myo was already incarcerated for an unrelated murder from August 2022, in which he beat a 58-year-old man to death with a hammer. Myo later pleaded guilty to that crime and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

In December 2023, a Potter County Grand Jury indicted Aung Thuya on the charge of murder for the death of Aung Oo. Thuya later pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, bringing the case to a close.