After two domestic situations involving members of the Hmong community escalated to violence in Catawba County in the last month, the United Hmong Association is preparing to address the issue at a clan meeting this Sunday.

On Wednesday, Paul Vang was killed after police say he shot his wife, Sandy Vang, and Xao Vue in the Gateway Plaza parking lot.  A month earlier, Conover Police say Fong Kong Yang stabbed his common law wife Lao Vang and her boyfriend Keng Chang on April 6 at V.I.P. Coin Laundry in Conover.  Vang died after the attack.

“This is sad.  Two incidences in the same year, with the same thing,” Khue Khang, former executive director of the United Hmong Association, said.  “This is very hurtful to the (Hmong) community to hear of another incident.”

The United Hmong Association will start addressing the issue by meeting with local Hmong leaders.

Leng Vang, interim executive director of the United Hmong Association, said there are 12 Hmong clans with a respective clan leader.  He said on Sunday the leaders will meet and discuss the perception of the Hmongs in the community and the issue of domestic violence.

“We need to get this issue discussed and come up with a strategy to prevent this from happening,” he said.

Khang said getting the leadership together will be the first step.  He also wants members of the United Hmong Association to meet with the Hickory Police Department to discuss the recent crimes.

Vang said, in Laos, a person can be forgiven for shooting someone, but adultery is a serious crime that is considered unforgivable.  Police do not know if adultery was committed in the most recent shooting, though in the April 6 stabbings, police Vang and Chang were romantically involved.  Officers said Yang also has a girlfriend of his own.

“I think people misunderstand the word ‘freedom’,” Vang said.  “They think they can do anything they want.”

Khang sees a need for more family education and counseling in the Hmong community.

“In order to have a healthy community, we have to have a healthy family and a healthy marriage,” he said.

He added that they must also learn that “the law governs everything.”

Vang said Hmongs are still relatively new members of American society and still learning the full context of the laws and how they apply to them.

“The law is so wide, it leaves too much opportunity for misconceptions (about how the law is applied),” Khang said.

Vang said it also requires more education and public awareness to help the general population understand who the Hmongs are and about their culture.