Friends, Loved Ones Remember Michelle Go, Killed In NY Subway Attack At San Francisco Chinatown Vigil
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/KPIX) -- More than one hundred people gathered in San Francisco Tuesday night to remember the life of Michelle Go from Fremont, who was killed over the weekend when she was pushed in front of subway train in New York City.
Go's family hopes people remember her life, rather than the way she died.
The song echoing through Chinatown was filled with sadness as those who 40-year-old Michelle Go gathered to remember her life.
"She was a smart, intelligent, and giving person," said high school friend Garry Tan. "She just showed what it meant to be alive, to be human, to strive."
Which is why news of her death hit those close to her so hard.
Earlier Tuesday, a vigil for go was held in New York's Times Square, not far from where she was killed. Others who knew her growing up gathered in Chinatown, Tuesday evening.
"I cannot believe that something like this would be someone we knew. You hear the stories, but just terrible," said Bonnie Lim, a family friend.
Go was born in Berkeley and grew up in Fremont. She moved to Manhattan to get her MBA from NYU and was working there as a consultant.
Around 9:30 a.m. Saturday, police say Go was standing on a subway platform at the Times Square station when a man shoved her in front of an oncoming train – killing her instantly.
Police say the man later turned himself in and was identified as 61-year-old Simon Martial, who is now charged with murder. Authorities said Martial is homeless and is mentally disturbed.
"She was just very kind through and through and it makes this tragedy all the more senseless and difficult to bear," said Nipun Pradhan, who attended the vigil. "Just be here and support our community. Doesn't matter if you're Asian, brown, black, white doesn't matter. You just want to be there for the people and support."
Friends say Go spent the last decade advocating for the homeless and was trying to help those like her alleged killer.
Detectives in New York are investigating this as a possible hate crime, but say so far there is no evidence Go was targeted because of her race.
