Seattleites march to honor fatally shot restaurant owner Eina Kwon and call for safety action

SEATTLE — The Tuesday morning shooting that ended the lives of Eina Kwon and her baby girl is still at the front of people in Seattle’s minds. Eina and her husband Sung were shot while they waited at the 4th Avenue and Lenora redlight, on their way to open their family restaurant, Aburiya Bento House. Those two locations are now covered in flowers and posters to express grief and anger about the attack that happened.

Those same locations served as rally points for a march that hoped to call attention to the violence and demand change for a safer city. Before the marchers left the 4th and Lenora corner, they had a moment of silence at 11 a.m., the same time gunshots echoed across 4th Avenue.

“It’s a good thing it’s raining today because it’s hard to see people cry,” Peter Kwon said.

Peter isn’t related to the family but came to show his support. While the group held their moment of silence, it was interrupted by CVS’ security system, a reminder that the corner needs to be watched.

“I’ve lived here in Seattle my whole life and I’ve never seen so much violence, especially gun-related violence,” marcher Patricia Fong said.

After the interrupted moment of silence, the group marched down Lenora to Western Avenue, the same route the Kwons meant to take on Tuesday.

“If it’s not connected directly to a hate crime the problem is the victims of violence are typically Asian American and that number is increasing so regardless of whether it’s a hate crime or not, we need to reduce the amount of violence where victims are AAPIs,” Peter said.

Police haven’t said the alleged shooter, Cordell Goosby, targeted the Kwons because they’re Asian but according to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Report System, in 2021, 5% of violent crime victims in Washington state are Asian-related. That’s higher than the national average that year of 2%. The national average also slightly jumped from 2020 to 2021, it was 1% before that.

“It’s time for violence against Asians, especially Asian American women to stop,” said Patricia.

March organizer, Susanna Keilman said, “Safety is inclusive. That’s the best form of inclusivity is making sure everyone is safe regardless of your race, regardless of your sexual orientation we want everyone to be safe.”

Prosecutors charged Goosby on Friday with one count of murder and another of attempted murder. Another murder charge can be tacked on if investigators prove the baby girl was “born alive”, a requirement for someone to be considered a victim of homicide.

Keilman hopes the call for change echoes from here.

“Please do not let today be the end of how we memorialize Eina and her family. Please let this be the beginning. Let this be a call to action,“ Keilman said “If we provide safety for one race we are doing it for the human race.”

There is a GoFundMe set up for the Kwon family, that link is here.

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