DNA in Hat Leads to Man’s Arrest in Fatal Shooting

A suspected gunman who left his baseball cap at a Cypress cafe during a shooting that left a young woman dead last month has been arrested after investigators recovered what they said was matching DNA from the hat, officials said Tuesday.

Wilson Sun, 21, of Lakewood, whom police describe as a member of a Los Angeles-based gang, fired a .45-caliber semiautomatic into the crowd, killing Venus Hyun, 21, of Cerritos and injuring four others at a restaurant frequented by young Korean Americans, police said.

Police said Hyun, a recent art school graduate whom friends described as deeply religious, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sun will be arraigned Friday at West Justice Center in Westminster. He faces murder, attempted murder and conspiracy charges, police said. At the time of his arrest, Sun was already in jail in Los Angeles on a parole violation in connection with an earlier assault conviction. Sun is now being held without bail.

Four other people were arrested when SWAT teams served search warrants at five homes as part of the investigation into the shooting.

Charkris Kanchanapoomi, 20, of Long Beach and Ashil Nair, 19, of Cerritos, both identified as gang members, face the same charges as Sun and possession of methamphetamine for sale, said Cypress Police Lt. David Birozy. They are being held on $1-million bail each, police said.

Two others were arrested on drug charges, but are not tied to the shooting, police said.

About 200 people were at the Fifth Wave Cafe on Lincoln Avenue about 1:30 a.m. March 13 when the shooting erupted.

Police said Hyun and some friends were dining when Kanchanapoomi and Nair approached them. “They asked who they were and what gang they belonged to,” Birozy said.

Hyun and her friends responded that they were not affiliated with a gang, and the two men left. Within seconds, Sun entered the cafe with a handgun and fired “at the people at the table,” Birozy said.

Several witnesses struggled with Sun for the weapon before he fled, and he dropped his cap in the process, Birozy said. By the time police arrived, many witnesses had left. It was unclear why the gunman targeted the people at the table.

Hyun died from a single gunshot wound to the torso. Four others were wounded in the arms, shoulders and stomach and have since been released from local hospitals.

Hyun, the eldest of four children, enjoyed shopping and caring for her siblings, according to a memorial website created by her cousin Edson Hyun, 24.

She had studied at Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles and aspired to open a clothing store with her father.