Officials Identify Man Gunned Down Inside Father's Corner Store In South Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Officials have identified the man who was gunned down inside his father's corner store in South Philadelphia Tuesday evening. Police say a customer found 31-year-old Xiaoding Li, of the 2300 block of 9th Street, unresponsive and bleeding from his chest behind the counter of the JD Hoyu grocery store, located on 9th and Porter Streets, around 5:30 p.m.
"When the paramedics arrived on location, that's when they realized the hospital case inside the store was actually a shooting victim. He was shot one time in his chest," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Neighbors tell CBS3 Li would step in and work for his father so he could take a break.
Small says investigators are unsure whether there was anyone else inside the store at the time of the shooting.
A motive, including a possible robbery, has not yet been determined.
"The cash register is still in the cashier booth. We don't know if anything was taken," Small said.
The news of the killing surprised neighbors like Jason Ortiz, who is a regular customer at the store.
A small memorial outside the corner store @ 9th & Porter in South Philly, where a 31y/o cashier was shot & killed Tues pm. @PhillyPolice say the victim was the son of the store owner. Still no motive or suspect description. @CBSPhilly https://t.co/x2tnrus1Nf pic.twitter.com/OoPPe9K8Y1
— Trang Do (@TrangKDo) January 8, 2020
"It's heartbreaking all around. I'm going to go pray for them. That's all you can do right now," Ortiz said.
Police are now looking through surveillance video in hopes of finding who killed Li. They say they've looked through some video but identifying the suspects may be hard because they were wearing all black and had ski masks on.
One of the two men was reportedly armed with a 9 m.m. handgun.
Police say it was likely a robbery but it's not clear if any cash was taken.
One customer says the store clerks need more protection.
"It could happen at any of these stores. Most of the time these guys are by themselves. From what I hear the owner is a real nice guy, the son was a nice guy. I go to the one down here on 9th and Shunk and that's what I thought it was at first when I heard it. And I know the guy down there and he's usually by himself," customer Terry Gibbs said.
Daoud Aouladdaoud has owned Stadium Pizza and Grill on South 10th Street for the past 10 years. The restaurant is a block away from where Li was killed.
"You have a business you want to run and then you hear stories like that. It's scary," Aouladdaoud said. "When you hear a story like that and especially when it's next door to you, it's scary. Yes, absolutely."
Aouladdaoud says he and his brother have discussed additional security measures for their clerks and delivery drivers, including closing earlier
But he says the customer comes first.
"You have customers that depend on you to have their dinner or whatever," he said. "If things like this continue to happen, of course, you're going to think twice."
A memorial is growing outside of JD Hoyu.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to contact them.
CBS3's Greg Argos and Howard Monroe contributed to this report.