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2014 Edmonton shooting

SOLVED2000Edmonton, Alberta, Canada3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · domestic violence · crimes against children · suicide — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

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.

Key facts

Victims
Elvis Lam, Thuy-tien Truong, Cyndi Duong, Thanh-ha-thi Truong, Viet Nguyen, Valentina Nguyen, Van-dang Truong, Thi-dau Le
Date
2000
Location
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1987

    Phu Lam's criminal record begins, including drug- and violence-related offenses, according to Wikipedia.

  2. 2000

    Phu Lam meets Thuy-tien Truong during a trip to Vietnam.

  3. 2003

    Thuy-tien Truong comes to Canada following their marriage.

  4. 2006

    The 9mm handgun later used in the shooting is reported stolen from Surrey, British Columbia.

  5. 2012-11

    A complaint is filed against Phu Lam after he threatens to kill his ex-wife and five other relatives.

  6. 2014-12-29

    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.

  7. 2014-12-30

    Police enter VN Express restaurant in Fort Saskatchewan at 7:34 a.m. and find Phu Lam's body after he died by suicide.

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People

  • Elvis Lam

    VICTIM

    Eight-year-old son of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Thuy-tien Truong

    VICTIM

    Wife of Phu Lam; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Cyndi Duong

    VICTIM

    Killed at a house in the Haddow neighbourhood of Edmonton.

    citation on file

  • Thanh-ha-thi Truong

    VICTIM

    Sister of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Viet Nguyen

    VICTIM

    Described as Tien Truong's male friend; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Valentina Nguyen

    VICTIM

    Three-year-old daughter of Thanh-ha-thi Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Van-dang Truong

    VICTIM

    Father of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Thi-dau Le

    VICTIM

    Mother of Thuy-tien Truong; killed at the Klarvatten house.

    citation on file

  • Phu Lam

    CONVICTED

    Perpetrator of the shootings; died by suicide before any criminal charges could be filed. Listed here as the person Wikipedia identifies as having committed the killings.

    citation on file

Places

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

53.6427, -113.4690

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
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.
Where did the shooting happen?
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Who was convicted?
Phu Lam (Perpetrator of the shootings; died by suicide before any criminal charges could be filed. Listed here as the person Wikipedia identifies as having committed the killings.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. 2014 Edmonton shootingwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Suspect in Edmonton killings threatened relatives in 2012news · The Globe and Mail · 2026-07-07
  3. 'In my 39 years of policing, I've never seen anything like it': Edmonton police chief on mass killingsnews · National Post · 2026-07-07
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