Asian-American comedian and activist, Tou Ger Xiong, aged 50, was tragically abducted and fatally stabbed more than a dozen times in Colombia by a group of men after arranging a date with a woman he met online. Xiong, who resided in Minnesota, was on vacation in Colombia, planning to spend the holiday season with family. He arrived in Medellín on Nov. 29 and had planned to meet the woman on Dec. 10.
Around 7 p.m. local time on the planned meeting day, Xiong called a friend, revealing that he was being held at gunpoint, and the assailants demanded $2,000 for his release. Earlier that day, police had been at the apartment where Xiong was staying due to a woman taking items from the residence. She escaped before the police could apprehend her.
Xiong's lifeless body was discovered in the La Corcovado ravine with over a dozen stab wounds and injuries consistent with a fall from over 60 feet. Local law enforcement confirmed the murder before any ransom was paid, and an investigation was initiated to determine if Xiong's death resulted from an attempted escape.
One of the suspected captors had already been arrested, as revealed by Xiong's brother. Eh Xiong expressed the difficulty in accepting the reality of his brother's death, stating, "It's kind of funny how I don’t even feel like he’s really gone yet."
Tou Ger Xiong, with ancestral ties to the Hmong people, was born in Laos in 1973 and immigrated to St. Paul in 1992. A valedictorian at Humboldt High School, he used his platform as a comedian to share personal stories addressing racial discrimination and promoting cultural understanding across the country.
US Senator Amy Klobuchar expressed condolences, describing the incident as a "heartbreaking tragedy" and mentioning efforts to bring Xiong's body back to Minnesota.
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