When we live in a world like this….Family members hurt while rebuffing apparent robbery

by Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Associated Press

ALAMO, Calif. – A family fought back against two home invaders with everything from frying pans to a handgun in a battle that ended with the father and one suspect dead and three other people hospitalized, authorities said today.

The two suspects went to Kim and Winnie Fang’s sprawling house adjacent to a country-club golf course yesterday evening in an apparent robbery attempt, first confronting the family’s nanny, Contra Costa County sheriff’s Lt. Jackie Rubin said.

“She answered the door, gunshots rang out and a struggle ensued,” Rubin said.

Kim Fang, 48, a retired dentist and plastic surgeon, was shot in the head and stomach and died late yesterday at John Muir Medical Center.

Fang, who was licensed to carry a handgun, shot one assailant fatally, Rubin said.

The second suspect was disarmed, tied up with telephone or electrical cord, shot and beaten, possibly with a frying pan, Rubin said. That suspect was in critical condition at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

Police did not give the names of the suspects.

Kim Fang’s wife, Winnie, an anesthesiologist, was in guarded condition at Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto with a gunshot wound to the chest.

The nanny, Maline Young, was in stable condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a gunshot wound to the head.

Kim Fang’s brother, Richard, also was involved in the fracas. Deputies said Richard Fang, who was cut during the fight but apparently not shot, had been staying at the house while recovering from surgery.

The Fangs’ 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were uninjured and ran next door to call police in the exclusive community about 20 miles east of San Francisco.

Both children were in the care of the sheriff’s Trauma Crisis Intervention Unit last night, Rubin said.

Three handguns were recovered at the scene, but it was not immediately clear who had carried them, she said.

Neighbors in the private Round Hill community described a surreal scene yesterday evening as numerous sheriff’s cars flooded the neighborhood and helicopters swooped from the night sky, some scanning the area with powerful searchlights while others whisked victims to hospitals. One helicopter landed next to the 16th green of the Round Hill Golf Course and took off with at least one victim.