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Solved case · 2014
The short answer
On December 29, 2014, Phu Lam killed eight people, including two children, most of them relatives, at two homes in Edmonton, Alberta, before killing himself at a Fort Saskatchewan restaurant the next day.
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Suggest coverage for 2014 Edmonton shootingThe case file
On December 29, 2014, 53-year-old Phu Lam carried out a shooting spree in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, killing eight people, including two children under the age of ten. Most of the victims were his relatives.
Lam first killed seven people inside a house in the Klarvatten neighbourhood of north Edmonton. The victims there were his wife, Thuy-tien Truong (known as Tien Truong), 35; her eight-year-old son, Elvis Lam; her father, Van-dang Truong, 55; her mother, Thi-dau Le, 55; her sister, Thanh-ha-thi Truong (known as Ha Truong), 33; her sister's three-year-old daughter, Valentina Nguyen; and Viet Nguyen, 41, described as Tien Truong's male friend. Lam then went to a second house in the Haddow neighbourhood of Edmonton, where he killed Cyndi Duong, 36.
After the killings, Lam drove to Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton, and entered VN Express, a Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant to which he had after-hours access because he was completing kitchen repairs there. He died by suicide inside the restaurant, shooting himself. Police entered the restaurant at 7:34 a.m. on December 30, 2014, and found his body.
Phu Lam was raised in Vietnam and had lived in Canada since 1979. He had an extensive criminal record dating back to 1987 that included drug- and violence-related offenses, and he had been arrested twice in Edmonton for sexual and domestic assault. He met his wife, who was 18 years younger than him, during a trip to Vietnam in 2000; the couple married six months later, and she came to Canada in 2003. At the time of the shooting, Lam was in bankruptcy proceedings and owed a substantial amount of money across at least a dozen credit cards, attributed to a gambling problem.
The firearm used in the killings, a 9mm handgun, had been registered in 1997 but was reported stolen in 2006 from Surrey, British Columbia. In November 2012, a complaint was filed against Lam after he threatened to kill his ex-wife, Thuy Tien Truong, and five other relatives.
As the perpetrator died by suicide, no criminal charges were filed in connection with the killings.
7 dated entries · 1987–2014
Phu Lam's criminal record begins, including drug- and violence-related offenses, according to Wikipedia.
Phu Lam meets Thuy-tien Truong during a trip to Vietnam.
Thuy-tien Truong comes to Canada following their marriage.
The 9mm handgun later used in the shooting is reported stolen from Surrey, British Columbia.
A complaint is filed against Phu Lam after he threatens to kill his ex-wife and five other relatives.
Phu Lam shoots and kills seven people at a house in the Klarvatten neighbourhood of Edmonton, then kills Cyndi Duong at a house in the Haddow neighbourhood.
Police enter VN Express restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan at 7:34 a.m. and find Phu Lam's body after he died by suicide.
9 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Killed at a house in the Haddow neighbourhood of Edmonton.[4]
Eight-year-old son of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Sister of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Mother of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Wife of Phu Lam; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Three-year-old daughter of Thanh-ha-thi Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Father of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Described as Tien Truong's male friend; killed at the Klarvatten house.[4]
Identified by Edmonton police as the sole shooter who killed eight people on December 29 2014; died by suicide at a Fort Saskatchewan restaurant, so was never prosecuted.[4]
4 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Official / agencyMass Casualty CommissionAccessed Jul 13, 2026
PressThe Globe and MailAccessed Jul 7, 2026
PressNational PostAccessed Jul 7, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 7, 2026
Trust
Jul 13, 2026Correction
Catalog QA: Corrected the incident date; the next-day discovery of the gunman is aftermath.
Are you family of someone named in this file? Corrections and removal requests from victims’ families are prioritized.
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