| Golden Dragon massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | San Francisco (California, United States) |
| Date | Sunday 4 September 1977 2:30 AM |
| Attack type | mass murder, massacre |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Injured | 11 |
| Perpetrator | Members of the Joe Boys |
The Golden Dragon massacre[1] took place in San Francisco, California, on September 4, 1977, inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant. At 2:40 AM a longstanding feud between two rival Chinese gangs, the Joe Boys and Wah Ching came to head when a botched assassination attempt by the Joe Boys at the Golden Dragon Restaurant led to the death of five people, including two tourists, and injury to 11 people, none of whom were gang members. The assassination attempt was a result of the death of another Joe Boy Felix Huey, who had died in a shootout with Wah Ching members at the Ping Yuen projects earlier that year.[2][3]
The Golden Dragon Massacre led to the establishment of the San Francisco Police Department's Asian Gang Task Force.[4]
Five men from the Joe Boys were arrested and convicted for the crime, with three of them still serving prison sentences. An ex-Joe Boys member, Bill Lee, wrote about the incident and his life as Joe Boys gangster in his book, Chinese Playground: A Memoir.
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The Golden Dragon was a restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown, noted for its dim sum and the Golden Dragon massacre.[5] It closed in January 2006 because of a failed inspection of the restaurant, and is now the Imperial Palace Restaurant.[6] The Golden Dragon also owed a year's worth of paychecks to its employees.[7][8]