Man convicted in deadly shooting of 68-year-old man in Sunset Park

A 46-year-old man was convicted of murder on Tuesday, June 27 for fatally shooting a 68-year-old man in Sunset Park over a decade-long family dispute.

Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Wednesday, June 28 that Wu Long Chen, a resident of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, had been convicted of one count of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog in the murder of Bensonhurst resident Ying Guan Chen.

According to trial testimony, on December 7, 2015, at around 9:35 p.m., Wu Long followed the victim after he left the wedding reception of a mutual friend at Golden Imperial Palace, 618 62nd Street in Sunset Park. Both men had attended the wedding, but were seated at different tables.

The defendant was captured on surveillance following the victim to Seventh Avenue and 61st Street, where he shot the victim in the head, chest and arm. Afterwards, Wu Long’s gun jammed, and he dropped it and fled the scene.

Wounded, Ying Guan entered a nearby Popeye’s Chicken restaurant, where he collapsed.

He was then rushed to NYU Lutheran Medical Center, where he died from the bullet wounds.

A long history of disputes led to the crime, according to Gonzalez.

Ying Guan was the father of the defendant’s former neighbors in China. Wu Long and the victim’s sons had argued repeatedly several years ago regarding the defendant’s family constructing an additional floor on the building they owned, which hovered over the victim’s family’s home.

The argument resulted in fights between both families which, according to Wu Long, resulted in a serious injury to one of his relatives. During his testimony, he said that he harbored a grudge and since he couldn’t find the victim’s sons, he sought revenge by killing the victim instead, even though he had no involvement in the dispute.

After the murder, Wu Long attempted to flee to Mexico, but was  apprehended in Laredo, Texas on December 31, 2015.

Wu Long’s sentencing is set for Monday, July 17. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

“This defendant held a grudge for more than 20 years and used deadly violence to settle a score,” Gonzalez said. “A dispute that should have ended in a village in China instead resulted in gunshots on the streets of Brooklyn. He has now been held accountable for his actions.”