21-year-old Belltown shooting victim 'was too young to die,' says family friend

Steven Sok wasn't an angel, but he wasn't a bad kid either, said family members who are struggling to make sense of his death early Sunday in a Belltown shooting.

Sok, 21, was a good-natured, quiet, gentle giant, longtime family friend Don Phok said Monday. "He's not a showoff muscle guy, or the kind of kid to cause trouble, create problems," Phok said.

Sok was killed and a 44-year-old man was critically injured in a barrage of gunfire around 2:45 a.m. outside of the V-Bar Noodle Bar & Lounge in the 2100 block of Second Avenue, according to Seattle police.

Police said Monday they have no motive or suspects in the shooting and do not know which man, if either, was the shooter's primary target.

Detectives have been unable to interview the 44-year-old man, who was taken into surgery at Harborview Medical Center, police spokesman Mark Jamieson said.

Sok's family said they have little to tell investigators.

If Sok was involved in a gang, according to Phok, his family didn't know it. He didn't wear gang colors, throw gang signs or strut around with any kind of attitude, he said.

Sok recently had begun studying for his General Educational Development Tests at South Seattle Community College and was working at a Target store in Tukwila, and Phok said he was encouraging him to join the military.

He might have gotten caught up with the wrong crowd, according to Phok.

"He was too young to die," Phok said. "If he did something to hurt someone, they should have (taught) him a lesson, physically, using their hands, so that when he heals, he remembers the lesson. Kids these days; they don't want to use hands, they just shoot."

Police early Sunday were monitoring bars at closing time — in Seattle they shut down shortly before 2 a.m. — when they heard gunshots, Jamieson said.

Sok and the 44-year-old victim were found lying on the sidewalk outside the V-Bar.

Police could not say whether any of the parties involved in the shooting had been in the V-Bar, Jamieson said.

For some, the shooting has rekindled a debate over how best to police the city's bars around closing time, when scores of patrons pour out into the streets.

During his campaign, Mayor Mike McGinn proposed staggering bar-closing times, a move that he said would reduce crime.

Mark Matassa, spokesman for McGinn, said the mayor's office is studying the issue and intends to make a proposal this year. The mayor's office will seek support of the City Council for any plan.

The V-Bar stopped serving drinks at 2 a.m. Sunday, but it continued serving food until 4 a.m.

A spokeswoman for the state Liquor Control Board said the V-Bar has had only one complaint since the owner received her license July 30.

According to the Liquor Control Board's violation notice, the owner, Trinh Le, 33, fired a handgun outside the bar March 17 after a fight. She says she fired it into the ground after she was confronted by an angry man who had been involved in the fight.

Anne Radford, Liquor Control Board spokeswoman, said Le has had a hearing before the control board, but Radford could not comment because the results have not been released.

Phok said Sok's mother is distraught with grief.

"Now, he's gone," Phok said. "And he will never get to taste life."

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf and staff reporters Emily Heffter and Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this report.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com