Community mourns slain Minnesota Hmong performer

Vigil held to honor MN Hmong comedian

Tou Ger Xiong was killed during a trip to Colombia, now the Hmong community mourns him. FOX 9's Babs Santos has more.

WOODBURY, Minn. (FOX 9) - Family and friends of Tou Ger Xiong gathered to comfort and support one another on Saturday, as Minnesota’s Hmong community continues to wrestle with the news of his overseas slaying.

"It has been uplifting to see all of you here to help me and help us remember our son and our brother," Xiong’s Mother Sao Lou Vue told the crowd.

Hundreds attended a candlelight vigil at East Ridge High School this weekend to celebrate Xiong’s life. The 50-year-old’s family says he was kidnapped, held for ransom, and killed on Dec. 11 during a trip to Colombia. The crime is still under investigation in South America; while here in Minnesota, Xiong’s absence is effecting many.

"He was so many things to so many people: an artist, a storyteller, and a pillar to the Hmong American community nationally, who put uplifting others above all else," Senator Amy Klobuchar said during the vigil. "He made the most of his tragically short time on earth."

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan calls Xiong’s death a loss felt by all who knew him, but even more, those who knew of him, because of his ability to build communities, bridge cultures, and connect generations. "There are no words to ease the pain or to feel the void that he has left," Flanagan said.

The Xiong family has created an endowment fund in Xiong’s honor. Click here to learn more.

"Uncle Tou, you will live on through the stories we tell," Xiong’s nephew Jim Kongmeng Yang finished. "You are a superhero to us all."