Four in family who were slain in San Jose are IDd by officials

A Vietnamese family killed in a quadruple murdersuicide in San Jose last weekend was identified Friday by county officials.

The victims are Le Thuy Hoang, 51, of Milpitas, Phung Ngoc Hoang, 48, of San Jose, Thanh Hoa Hoang, 23, of San Jose, and Thi Que Pham, 42, of San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County coroner’s office.

Chi Dinh Ta, 66, is suspected of shooting the four victims to death Sunday night at his home on the 500 block of Habbitts Court in San Jose, before killing himself.

Family members believe the dispute began as an argument between Ta and his wife, after he was barred from sponsoring family members for visas because of a prior criminal conviction, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Ta was upset that his wife was able to bring her family over from Vietnam, and he recently called one of his wife’s cousins with a request to take his daughter. Ta also reportedly threatened to kill his wife’s relatives.

A woman identifying herself as Ta’s wife called 911 around 8:30 p.m. Sunday to report that her husband had shot her brother and sister, police said. He fired at all four victims before turning the gun on himself.

Officials said Ta’s wife, daughter and niece survived the shooting and escaped the home.

Police used an armored vehicle to rescue a man and a woman who had been shot. The two were transported to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Officers entered the home around 1:25 a.m. and found the suspect and two more women dead with gunshot wounds, said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a San Jose police spokesman.

A memorial of white roses and candles sat outside Ta’s home this week, while crime scene cleaners scrubbed the front step of the residence and gunshot residue from the home.

Nineteen people have been killed in San Jose this year.