Vietnamese community mourns New Orleans East store owner killed in armed robbery

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The city’s Vietnamese community is mourning a beloved New Orleans East grocery store owner who police say was killed in an armed robbery on New Year’s Eve.

According to investigators, Thanh Vu tried to intervene when three suspects began stealing cartons of cigarettes from her Viet My supermarket around 6pm on New Year’s Eve. Vu was shot, her attackers fled, and Vu died three days later in a New Orleans hospital.

Vu’s daughter said her family fled their home country to escape the communist regime and find a better life in the United States, only to see their matriarch mortally wounded in the grocery store that had served her community since May well over 30 years.

“Her family escaped the communist regime about 12 days after the fall of Saigon,” said daughter Hang Vu. “They ran away in my grandfather’s fishing boat.”

Local law enforcement leaders stood with her family and community members at a vigil to honor her life Wednesday night (Dec. 8).

“This year, 2025, is a pivotal moment for us because it’s 50 years of Vietnamese-Americans in Louisiana. The Vietnamese supermarket is one of those cultural anchors in our community,” said Tap Bui, co-executive director of Sông Community Development Corporation.

Loved ones gathered at the store near Alcee Fortier Boulevard and Chef Menteur Freeway to remember the 65-year-old victim, seen by many as a pillar of their community. Family members said Vu was working at the store’s cash register when the murder took place.

“She was so kind and shared everything. Anything she could share, she would share. And she always believed it was her duty to help others,” said Hang Vu.

Bui said: “To have lost such an important figure in our community is a devastating blow.”

Hang Vu’s two sons, four daughters and nine grandchildren were on the way.

“The last text message to her was like we came for the New Year to celebrate,” Hang Vu said. “She says, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll hire a U-Haul to transport everyone.’ We couldn’t have that this year.”

Two men arrested, woman still wanted for killing New Orleans East grocery store owner

New Orleans police announced during the vigil that they had arrested two men and were looking for a third suspect — a woman named Anjaunau “Henny” Davis, 25 — in connection with the killing. Davis is wanted for second-degree murder, police said. Nathanial K. Carpenter, 24, was convicted of second-degree murder, and Adrian Harris, 27, was convicted of second-degree murder, NOPD said.

Community members at the vigil called on elected officials to better protect those in New Orleans East.

“For so many years, New Orleans East has been disinvested, under-resourced, often stigmatized,” Bui said. “We have been neglected for so long. We’re sick of it.”

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, who attended the vigil, responded by saying, “I hear that. I hear it and I get it and if there’s anything I can do to help, I want to be able to do that. The first thing, though, is just listening.”

Hutson said now is the time for the city to come together for tough conversations.

“The root causes of crime are many,” she said. “Sometimes, it’s economical. Sometimes it’s mental health. Sometimes it’s addiction, trauma. … We’re actually trying to work that out with those in our custody. But first we have to get these people into custody. They must be held accountable.”

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