St. Paul soldier killed in Fort Hood massacre

St. Paul soldier killed in Fort Hood massacre
November 08, 2009 18:41 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A Minnesota soldier is among those killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood.

Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, died in the attack Thursday, said Tim McGowan, principal of Community of Peace Academy, a school attended by Xiong.

McGowan said Xiong's father, Chor Xiong, informed the school of his son's death. Family members picked up pictures of Xiong on Friday for a memorial service, McGowan said.

Kham Xiong's sister, Mee Xiong, speaking to Kare11 News at her parents home on Saint Paul's East Side, said that her brother was to deploy to Afghanistan in January, his first overseas assignment since joining the Army last year.

"He was getting ready to get deployed...and he was getting ready for his checkup. He was getting (vaccination) shots done at that time."

Mee Xiong is one of the slain soldier's 10 siblings. Their brother, Nelson Xiong, 18, is a U.S. Marine currently on duty in Afghanistan. She says having two sons in harm's way in military is "hard on the family." She describes Kham as "just a loving person, a person that has no enemies, none at all. So, it is hard to let him go 'cause he was such a good person and had not done anything bad at all."

Xiong graduated from Community of Peace in 2004, McGowan said.

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum released a statement on Xiong's death late Friday afternoon.

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