Apparently there are a lot of Laotians living in Wichita, 5044 according to the 2000 Census. We wouldn't know about this additional diversity if it weren't for a recent shoot-up at a wake, the sort of crime you don't see every day.

Wichita, Kansas — Gunfire erupted shortly after 9:30 p.m. Saturday night  in the 2900 block of E. Dunham in southeast Wichita, leaving two dead and seven others injured.  Police are still looking for suspects.

According to police, a total of nine people were shot.  One died at the scene.  Another died on the way to a local hospital.  One more is in critical condition.  Four others are in serious condition.  The other two wounded in the attack suffered minor injuries.

Police say there was a wake going on inside the residence at the time of the attack.  Witnesses said 40 to 60 people were at the home during the shooting.  The crowd was made up of Laotion-Americans and Laotion immigrants. 

"I was just in the house," said Ket Keovilay. "I just heard gunshots. I thought it may be kids with firecrackers or something. I don't know anything else about it. After that it was just scary. I don't know why anybody would do anything like that. I don't believe it."
[Witness Reacts to Wake Shooting, KSN 3, Wichita, Jan 25, 2009]

See Diversity Tracking via Crime for look back at a mass-murdering Ukrainian in Sacramento, a triple-killer Micronesian in a Missouri church and violent Kurdish gangsters in Nashville.

Has America imported enough criminal diversity yet?