Police are calling it a vicious, cold-blooded murder that was witnessed by the merchant's wife while she was holding their 8 month old baby girl.
Philadelphia Police officers carried out the body of the 27 year old Asian merchant from his Jin House restaurant at the corner of Longshore and Tulip in Tacony Friday night.
Police say it was just after 7:00pm when two black males wearing ski masks rushed into the store with guns drawn and announced a robbery.
"The owner was behind the counter; he was letting these individuals take whatever they wanted, and for whatever reason, he was shot one time. According to paramedics, he was shot right in the left side of his chest, and he was killed instantly," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Police say the merchant's 27 year old wife was standing just a few feet away when the killing took place.
"She was holding her 8 month old child at the time of this homicide," said Chief Small.
Neighbors feared something like that would happen to the couple, who has three small children, because the restaurant has been robbed at least three times before.
"I kept asking her, 'Candy, why don't you put up the glass like the Chinese stores have now?' And she said she couldn't afford it yet," explained Roberta Salley.
Patricia Batista rushed to the store shortly after the shooting.
"She had the baby and she could hardly hold her because she was hysterical," Patricia said. "So I grabbed the baby from her because she was slipping out of her arms."
It was only the night before that hundreds of merchants from across the region met in Elkins Park with authorities from Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Delaware County to discuss the increasing crime against Asian merchants.
"The importance of the meeting is to raise awareness for the Asian community, and to explain to them the value of participating with our local law enforcement and our judicial system," said Pearl Kim, the organizer of the event.
Police are hoping surveillance cameras may have captured good images of the two killers. They are in the process of securing the footage, hoping that someone can identify them.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Philadelphia Police.
