Customers Mourn Slain Merchants

When the Kim brothers bought Don’s Liquor Store in Long Beach three years ago, they went beyond the call of the average merchant.

When a resident had a baby, Kyung Sun Kim--known as Mr. Kim--handed him an envelope with $50; when another resident lost a spouse, he handed the woman a similar gift. And it went without saying that he had a soft touch for extending credit when his neighbors were a little short, residents said.

Kim made it a point to attend most Neighborhood Watch meetings, said Fletcher Givings, 70, a decades-long resident and Watch captain.

“They really wanted to help the neighborhood,” said Carmen Givings, 68.

But last Friday, gunmen robbed the neighborhood convenience store and killed Kyung Sun Kim of Fullerton and his younger brother, Kyung Min Kim, 44, of Cerritos. Both were Korean immigrants.

Long Beach police are looking for two suspects: a black man in his 30s, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and 200 pounds, who wore a camouflage shirt and blue shirt; and another black man, also in his 30s, about 6 feet 2, weighing about 170 pounds, who wore a gray, hooded “Johnny Blaze” sweatshirt and dark, baggy pants.

Since the shootings, the store at Long Beach Boulevard and Barclay Street has become a shrine with dozens of candles and hundreds of signatures from neighborhood residents.

“I remember your simple kindness,” read one letter.

On Sunday, a vigil will be held in anticipation of the store reopening Monday. People have left flowers and wept at the site, said Miguel Bravo, who lives across the street from the store.

“This hurt everyone a great deal, because they were truly fine people,” he said.

Pal Kim, the wife of Kyung Min Kim, said her two young boys were struggling to cope with the loss. So was Min Kim’s elderly mother, who lived with Kyung Sun Kim in Fullerton. “My sons are crying a lot,” said Pal Kim, 41. “He didn’t have a lot of time, but he liked playing with them, especially football and basketball and badminton.”

Her husband and brother-in-law were “loved by their customers,” she said.

Police believe one of the robbers tried to enter a glass secured area behind one of the counters. They took money from the counter and shot Kyung Sun Kim in the head and upper body.

As they fled outside and behind an alley, Kyung Min Kim chased them; he was shot in the chest outside.

“These people were like family,” said David Phillips. “They were beautiful, beautiful people.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Dets. Stephen Jones or Scott Lasch at (562) 570-7244.