Cambodian Immigrant Chhouy Harm Goes on Shooting Rampage Killing Two Granddaughters, Son-in-Law, Wounding Daughter

It is shocking to learn that a woman shot multiple people and it's even more shocking to learn a 69 year old grandmother is accused of fatally shooting three relatives and taking her own life. According to the Seattle Times, Chhouy Harm, a Cambodian immigrant in her 50s or 60s, was the family matriarch, who went berserk and killed her two teenage granddaughters, her son-in-law and wounding her daughter. Several relatives also said the woman was mentally ill and had been in and out of institutions or hospitals, though the shooting rampage came as a shock to them.

The grandmother told one relative to lock herself in her room. She then went downstairs Thursday afternoon and killed her son-in-law, as her panicked grandchildren began fleeing their West Seattle home, screaming and crying. Next she went into her daughter's bedroom, where two of her granddaughters were hiding, and shot them, too. As her daughter fled, Chhouy Harm took aim and fired into her back.

"Grandma just shot them for no reason," said 17-year-old Tony Sun, a member of the family who arrived home shortly after the shootings to see police lining his street. Sun said the wounded woman is Thyda Harm, who was taken to Harborview Medical Center and is expected to survive. Killed were Thyda's husband, Chean Harm Phan, and two of their daughters, Jennifer Harm, 17, and Melina Harm, 14. Source: Seattle Times

Seattle police said the motive for this unspeakable act of violence is unknown and this was the deadliest shooting in Seattle since Kyle Huff killed six people on Capitol Hill before killing himself in March 2006. Like domestic violence, mental illness is such a "dirty word" in some circles and is normally hidden from the public by relatives.