Man sentenced to 40 to life in deadly shooting of 68-year-old man in Sunset Park

A 46-year-old man was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting a 68-year-old man in Sunset Park over a decade-long family dispute.

Acting District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the sentence on Tuesday, August 1.

Wu Long Chen, a resident of the Lower East Side in Manhattan, had been convicted in June of one count of second-degree murder in the death of 68-year-old Bensonhurst resident Ying Guan Chen, as well as second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

“This was a particularly egregious and senseless murder – an elderly man who had done nothing wrong was shot in cold blood over an old dispute oceans away of which he had no part,” said Gonzalez in a statement. “This defendant was caught on video stalking, following and, finally, shooting this innocent victim to death in the street. Today’s lengthy sentence is just, given the horrific nature of this crime.”

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.

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

The argument resulted in fights between the 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.