Man killed in Fort Worth shooting identified as ‘pillar’ of Dallas’ Asian community

The man killed in Fort Worth this week after a traffic accident spurred a shooting has been identified as Chin “Jin” Shin — the owner of Encore Family Karaoke, co-owner of the DanSungSa Korean restaurant’s Dallas location and a “pillar” of Dallas’ Asian community. Authorities responded to a call about an accident at the intersection of the southbound lanes of South University Drive and Interstate 30 about 2:45 a.m. Monday, where police learned Shin had been shot after an argument escalated into gunfire. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office confirmed Shin, 43, died from gunshot wounds. Fort Worth police said Wednesday they were still “interviewing all involved subjects”; authorities have not announced any arrests.

Shin was born in South Korea before immigrating to the United States in 1983, and grew up in various parts of Louisiana and North Carolina before moving to Texas. He graduated from Berkner High School in Richardson, served as a Marine and earned a business degree from Western Governors University. Those who knew Shin told The Dallas Morning News he was a supportive, kind, big-hearted, fun-spirited man with an “iconic Chewbacca call” and a lifelong commitment to giving back. Donny Sirisavath, the chef behind Darkoo’s Chicken Shack, had been friends with Shin for about 10 years and described him as a goofball who got along with everyone. ”He could have a conversation about anything and everything,” Sirisavath said. “He was just a fun-spirited person.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sirisavath said Shin reached out to him with an idea to help him and other businesses. The idea was to create a collaborative pop-up in which businesses took over Encore Family Karaoke’s kitchen to help keep each other afloat. “On that day, he was like, ‘If you guys ever need help, I’m always here for you,’” Sirisavath said. “He was never a selfish guy.” Angela Nguyen, a close friend of Shin, said he had a wonderful singing voice. One of her favorite songs he sang was Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason.” “It gives me shivers just to hear him sing it,” she said. “I’m gonna miss that voice so much.” Peng Dang of Arlington said he had been friends with Shin, whom he described as a “pillar of Dallas’ Asian community,” since Shin came out to support him at a comedy show just over a year ago.