The Nhep family's life permanently changed at 3:20 a.m. Saturday, the moment a drive-by shooter sprayed their house with bullets. One shot went through Thorn Nhep's bedroom where the father of four was sleeping. Nhep died instantly.
"I kept calling his name, but he didn't response," daughter Anna Sok said.
Some of the bullet holes are from two other drive-by shootings that have happened in the neighborhood. Oakland police won't confirm whether the 46-year-old mechanic was the intended target.
"I have no clue why they'd want to shoot up his house like that," said neighbor Harry Winston.
The early morning gunfire woke up Winston, who lives across the street from the Nhep family.
"Some violence comes close to home," Winston said. "It reminds you that there are people who insist on getting through life that way."
Nhep and his wife immigrated to the United States from Cambodia two decades ago, hoping to find a better life here. Nhep's wife and children plan on moving out of the neighborhood as soon as possible.
