Three people were shot, one of them fatally, at the Boo Han Oriental Market in Edmonds on Sept. 29. (Olivia Vanni / Herald file)

Three people were shot, one of them fatally, at the Boo Han Oriental Market in Edmonds on Sept. 29. (Olivia Vanni / Herald file)

Charges: Boo Han shooter stalked wife, sent alarming texts

Duy Nguyen is charged with killing his wife’s friend and wounding two others at an Edmonds market.

EDMONDS — A suspected shooter sent alarming text messages the night before he opened fire at an Asian market in Edmonds in September, killing a Mountlake Terrace woman and wounding two others, according to charges filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Duy Phuong Nguyen, 27, is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm in the death of Thanh Vy Ly, 20, and two counts of first-degree assault for shooting Ly’s boyfriend and his own wife Sept. 29.

Nguyen and his wife, 24, wed three years ago in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. She moved to Everett in July 2020, to live with her husband and his parents, the charges say. She worked at the Boo Han Market on Highway 99, along with Nguyen’s mother and another woman who became a close friend, Ly, 20.

According to charging papers, Nguyen began to beat his wife, hitting her in the face.

On Aug. 2, she called 911 sobbing and saying, “Please help me! He hit me!”

Another woman — “presumably Defendant’s mother” — grabbed the phone and told the dispatcher, “That’s OK, ma’am,” according to the charges. Amid the confused moments that followed, it sounded as if the original 911 caller stated, “That’s OK. I will call you later.” Police drove to the area and tried to call back the number, but they could not find the woman, according to the charges.

The woman confided in her coworker, Ly, that Nguyen’s family accused her of disrespecting them by calling police. Weeks later, she was kicked out of the house. Ly invited her to move into her apartment in Mountlake Terrace.

The estranged wife often took the bus. According to her, Nguyen would “randomly appear at her bus stops.” She kept a log in her phone each time she saw him watching her, the charges state.

The night before the shooting, Nguyen texted her: “(Ly) is finished,” and “Tomorrow everything will end.” She shared the messages with Ly and Ly’s boyfriend. They knew Nguyen had guns and liked to go target shooting. In light of the circumstances, the boyfriend drove both women to work and stayed with them during their shifts on Sept. 29.

Then the couple left around 2 p.m.

At 3:05 p.m., Nguyen showed up asking for Ly, following his estranged wife around the store and demanding to know where she was, the court papers say. After a phone call with her friend, Ly decided to come back to the market “to talk with Defendant to smooth things over.”

Before they returned, Nguyen walked back to the store and bought some things at 3:12 p.m. He left again at 3:14 p.m. The couple arrived at 3:23 p.m. Nguyen walked into the store again just after them.

At a distance, the trio saw him speaking with a manager. Ly’s boyfriend realized “they should not approach (Nguyen) based on his demeanor,” according to the charges. They decided to call police, and walked to the entrance of the store. Ly embraced and consoled her crying friend.

“Oh, hi,” Ly’s boyfriend told a dispatcher, according to the charges. “My girlfriend received a threat yesterday, and the guy who sent the threat is showing at her workplace at Boo Han Market — ”

Fifty seconds into the call, Nguyen casually walked up to the huddled group. He pulled out a black handgun, and “without breaking his stride,” he began firing roughly 12 rounds.

“Once all of his victims fell to the ground, he nonchalantly walked away,” according to the charges filed by deputy prosecutors Audrey Majkut and Corinne Klein.

The wife suffered bullet wounds to her cheek and leg.

The boyfriend reported he could not feel his legs, and that his back felt like it was on fire. He had suffered at least five gunshot wounds in his legs and lower right abdomen.

Ly suffered two gunshot wounds: one to the abdomen and one to the arm.

In the ambulance, Ly told a paramedic, “My friend’s husband did this.” She died in the operating room.

The other two gunshot victims were expected to survive.

Edmonds police publicly recognized the first officers on the scene — Kristian Gonzalez, Erick Martinez, Bobby Peck and Rheshuan Strange — for their swift actions when they “bravely ran into the chaos that afternoon and provided critical lifesaving aid through the use of tourniquets, chest seals and well-directed direct pressure.” Only one of them, Peck, had worked solo patrol for more than a few shifts. Martinez, an emergency room technician for 15 years, had been undergoing field training for eight weeks.

About five hours after the shooting, an Edmonds detective received a phone call from a woman saying she was Nguyen’s mother. She was with him outside the Everett Police Department South Precinct off Everett Mall Way.

She handed the phone to her son.

“I want to surrender,” Nguyen said, according to the charges.

He reportedly told police he had a Glock in his mother’s GMC, and another gun — what turned out to be a Beretta — in his car at his home. Police found both weapons as described and seized them. Records revealed Nguyen purchased the Beretta in 2016. Charging papers say he bought the Glock two weeks before the shooting.

Police believe the Glock was the murder weapon.

Bail remained at $3 million when Nguyen was arraigned this week. He was represented by a public defender.

At the time of his arrest, another Edmonds detective explained to Nguyen why he was being booked into jail. The officer told him he was accused of assault and murder. According to the charges, Nguyen replied, “Who died?”

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

Talk to us

More in Local News

Cars move across Edgewater Bridge toward Everett on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edgewater Bridge redo linking Everett, Mukilteo delayed until mid-2024

The project, now with an estimated cost of $27 million, will detour West Mukilteo Boulevard foot and car traffic for a year.

Lynn Deeken, the Dean of Arts, Learning Resources & Pathways at EvCC, addresses a large gathering during the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Cascade Learning Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, at Everett Community College in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
New EvCC learning resource center opens to students, public

Planners of the Everett Community College building hope it will encourage students to use on-campus tutoring resources.

Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman announces his retirement after 31 years of service at the Everett City Council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett police chief to retire at the end of October

Chief Dan Templeman announced his retirement at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. He has been chief for nine years.

Boeing employees watch the KC-46 Pegasus delivery event  from the air stairs at Boeing on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Boeing’s iconic Everett factory tour to resume in October

After a three-year hiatus, tours of the Boeing Company’s enormous jet assembly plant are back at Paine Field.

A memorial for a 15-year-old shot and killed last week is set up at a bus stop along Harrison Road on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Teen boy identified in fatal shooting at Everett bus stop

Bryan Tamayo-Franco, 15, was shot at a Hardeson Road bus stop earlier this month. Police arrested two suspects.

Mike Bredstrand, who is trying to get back his job with Lake Stevens Public Works, stands in front of the department’s building on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Lake Stevens, Washington. Bredstrand believes his firing in July was an unwarranted act of revenge by the city. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Lake Stevens worker was fired after getting court order against boss

The city has reportedly spent nearly $60,000 on attorney and arbitration fees related to Mike Bredstrand, who wants his job back.

Chap Grubb, founder and CEO of second-hand outdoor gear store Rerouted, stands inside his new storefront on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Gold Bar, Washington. Rerouted began as an entirely online shop that connected buyers and sellers of used gear.  (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Used outdoor gear shop Rerouted finds a niche in Gold Bar

Seeking to keep good outdoor gear out of landfills, an online reselling business has put down roots in Gold Bar.

Naval Station Everett. (Chuck Taylor / Herald file)
Everett man sentenced to 6 years for cyberstalking ex-wife

Christopher Crawford, 42, was found guilty of sending intimate photos of his ex-wife to adult websites and to colleagues in the Navy.

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers speaks to the crowd during an opening ceremony at the new PAE2 Amazon Fulfillment Center on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish County executive pitches $1.66B budget

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers announced his proposed budget Tuesday afternoon. Public comment is slated to begin Oct. 10.

Most Read