Comedian and activist Tou Ger Xiong has been stabbed and killed after going on a date.
Xiong was found dead whilst on vacation in Medellín, Colombia. The 50-year-old had been on a date with a woman he met online.
On 10 December, Xiong reportedly called a friend after the date saying had been kidnapped by “several men” and was being held for a $2,000 ransom. Xiong’s body was later found in a wooded area with stab wounds.
Regarded as America’s first Hmong comedian, Xiong was a refugee from Laos who fled to the US with his family, excelling academically and later becoming a Hmong American storyteller.
He then made quite a name for himself in Minnesota as a comedian and activist.
“That’s very difficult, you know? Nobody deserves that. But I really want to just make sure that we don’t remember him for how he died, but remember him for how he lived,” Xiong’s lifelong friend, Bo Thao-Urabe said.
Xiong was a co-founder of Hmong Minnesota Day and received awards for his efforts to address racial discrimination.
One suspect has been apprehended, and a foundation is planned in his name.
