A shooting of five people at Forum Roller World in Grand Prairie, Texas is unlikely, unless you take a closer look at it. A husband and father, Tan Do, 35, methodically shoots his wife, Trini Do, 29, her younger sister, 16, her closest sister here in Texas, Michelle Ta 28, her brother, Hien Ta, 21, and her sister-in-law, Thuy Nguyen, 25. Four other relatives were wounded.
Did Tan Do know he was going to shoot his wife’s family at a birthday party for his son at a skating rink well before hand? It certainly looks like it.
Why did Tan Do bring a .40-caliber pistol, with backup ammunition, to his own son’s birthday party, if he didn’t intend to use it? This wholesale slaughter of Trini Do’s family Saturday evening has the earmarks of manifest premeditation.
Something was really bothering Tan Do. The cause of this anger is hinted at in several news stories covering the tragic incident at Forum Roller World. Tan didn’t like to see his wife Trini accomplishing a great deal in the business world.
Trini was making progress in real estate and worked in accounting at the University of Texas at Arlington. Furthermore, she liked to help her family financially, and this is where the problem was.
The contrasting backdrop to the finale Saturday night was a family vacation taken just two weeks ago, a cruise to Cancun Mexico with the Do couple and their two children.
A WFAA news reel shows a volley of photos from the cruise to Cancun that gives the appearance of a well-enjoyed excursion. Tan and Trini embrace for the camera and seem to be getting on very nicely.
But the mirth is shallow. Behind the fishing, swimming, and scooter romps lurks a history of domestic violence. Tan had threatened Trini with a gun many times before. Trini backed down from pressing charges, against a prosecutor’s advice.
One time Tan had taken all his guns out and put them on a table, saying he would shoot anyone who came over to their house. Just how many firearms did Tan have anyway?
Why didn’t someone see this situation was way beyond a simple slap on the face?
Tan clearly hated Trini and her family. Walt Hedrick, the owner of Forum Roller World, said that during the shooting, which really only took a few minutes, Tan had returned to the victims to shoot them over again, just to make sure they were dead.
Then he took his own life. Hopefully, more details will be revealed as to what’s behind this senseless tragedy. Could it have been prevented? Was there something about their background, coming from Vietnam, that can help to explain the violence?
Tan’s attitude about Trini’s apparent upward mobility in business is especially in need of elaboration. And his choice of a family roller rink reeks of a twisted mind. Tan surely lured Trini’s family to their death.
But why did Michelle Ta know to tell her husband, Dylan Pham, not to come? Did Michelle have premonitions of what was to come?
