Chinatown killing motive eludes police

Prosecutors said they are yet to determine why 23-year-old Alphonso Joyner allegedly shot and killed 71-year-old Woom Sing Tse in Chicago's Chinatown last week.

Joyner has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a revoked Firearm Owner's Identification Card.

A vigil was held on Friday for Tse, who died after being shot multiple times last Tuesday. A GoFundMe fundraiser was initiated for Tse and it has already raised over $70,000.

Joyner fired more than 20 times at Tse as he walked down a sidewalk a few blocks from his home, Assistant State's Attorney James Murphy told Judge Maryam Ahmad on Thursday.

Ahmad said the "overwhelming" amount of evidence pointed to an "execution" and she denied bail for Joyner.

Several home surveillance cameras captured Tse walking down a street as Joyner pulled up in a car, Murphy said. Joyner, wearing a face mask and a hoodie, fired seven shots at Tse, paused and then fired seven more times.

Tse covered his head and ears before falling to the ground during the second volley of shots. Joyner then stopped the car, got out and walked "calmly" toward Tse while yelling "Hey! Hey!" and pointing a gun. Joyner fired nine more shots before walking "calmly" back to the car.

The shooting happened as Tse was walking to the store to buy a newspaper, and it was across the street from Haines Elementary School, where Tse's daughter is a teacher.

Tse moved to Chicago from China 50 years ago and worked as a cook until he saved enough money to open a restaurant and then another.

Tse's son William told reporters after Joyner's hearing that his family was "speechless so many people came out to help us" after the killing.

"We just want justice," he said.

Joyner's attorney said "essential information" was lacking in the prosecution's case. There was a possibility that with the car's tinted windows, there were other people in the car who could have been the shooter.

On the same day when Tse was shot, a grocery store in Chinatown was robbed of several hundred dollars, and two women of Chinese ethnicity were robbed of their cars in the center and outskirts of Chinatown, respectively.

According to data provided by Chicago police, 678 people have been killed and 3,766 injured in shootings in Chicago so far this year, more than in other years.

A recent report said random attacks on people of Asian descent in New York this year have accounted for a large share of a jump in reported hate crimes.

Xinhua contributed to this story.