Denver Woman Shot Multiple Times in Her Car on Her Way to Work

Kim Phok, 61, was found wounded inside her white 2009 Acura MDX on Interstate 70 on the morning of April 20 after someone working in the area reported hearing shots.

Phok, who complained of “stomach pains,” was found to have been shot multiple times for reasons still unknown to the police.

“The thing that is really going through my mind is how much I love her. How much the family loves her and how much we’ll miss her,” Phok’s elder son, Chhom Seng, told CBS Denver. “She was a great woman, a great loss to the family.”

The family escaped the deadly Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and arrived in the U.S. as refugees. While she did not speak English upon her arrival, Phok worked hard to give the family a better life, including sending Seng to college.

“Why would anyone so kind and so gentle have enemies? It just doesn’t make any sense,” Seng told Fox Denver.

Up until April 20, Phok regularly commuted to work early in the morning — a trip she had made with no issue for 15 years. The call to the police came in around 4:30 a.m.

“She had three grandchildren,” Seng added. “She loved them so much and they loved her. It has been really rough on them.”

Phok passed away at Denver Health Medical Center on April 25.

Seng told NextShark that there is no clear indication that she was targeted because of her race.

“Her car has dark tinted windows and the time at which was driving was very dark,” he said. “And although police have not ruled out the possibility this was a hate crime, they see no evidence it was either.”

Denver Police has reportedly been asked whether the case is a bias-motivated crime, considering the rise in attacks against Asians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“The motive for the shooting is not known and an offender has not been identified at this point,” Lt. Matt Clark told reporters on Tuesday.

Anyone with information about the deadly shooting is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

Feature Images via Chhom Seng