Bellevue man shot 9 times in alleged murder-for-hire plot speaks out following arrest of his ex-wife
BELLEVUE, WA - A Bellevue man who survived being shot 9 times in an alleged murder for hire plot is speaking out following the arrest of ex-wife and two 17-year-olds.
“The detectives told me, prior to the arrests, they didn’t tell me yet it was her, they just said, Hey you know your story is so unbelievable, Hollywood wouldn’t buy it. No one would buy our story because it’s that’s crazy,’” says Baron Li.
What he’s experienced and lived through is simply unimaginable.
“Shot as many times as I was, I was sure I was bleeding out. I was sure my heart was going to stop at any given time.”
It was an early July morning when Li was approached by a masked man outside his home on his way to work.
RELATED: Woman and two teens arrested in alleged murder-for-hire plot of Bellevue man shot 10 times
“I’m like, 'Oh my god, he’s going to shoot me, unload his clip right here.”
Li was shot a total of 9 times, some of the shots fired point blank.
“I’m thinking, 'Who’s shooting me, because I know it’s not my ex-wife, but I know she’s the one who sent him.' I already knew, no doubt in my head that’s what it was.”
Police later connected his ex-wife to two 17-year-olds they say she conspired with to kill Li -but here’s where his story might really shock you.
“The nine bullet wounds, not the worst part of this,” says Li.
He explains the hit on his life is just another chapter of five years in his violtile, tumultuous divorce and custody battle.
“I’ve lived this for 5 years, trying to tell this story. If I told you my ex-wife when we first separated that she was trying to kill my son, she was plotting to get rid of me, she wanted me out of her life, and not being able to tell people this because no one would believe me, and when I tried everyone thought I was lying or exaggerating ... it was tough.”
Li says since 2015 things have been extremely ugly between him and his ex. He says there have been false allegations of domestic violence that temporarily had him and his son apart.
“I lost my home, lost my son, lost everything I owned.”
Later on, his ex-wife had their son taken away by CPS for neglect, and eventually Li got temporary custody. The nasty custody battle was still ongoing when he was shot, and Li says he had no choice but to watch his son continue to go to supervised visits with his mother, up until her arrest last week.
“I’d like to see my son walk one day, be able to talk and communicate with me one day.”
Li’s son has a form of cerebral palsy that makes him unable to speak, walk or sit up on his own. His primary focus is getting his son the best treatment possible.
When it comes to what happened to him, he says he is trying to have faith in the legal system. And his thoughts on the alleged teen hit men involved?
“I’ll tell you on camera right now, I don’t blame them, I’m not even mad at the kids. They’re kids, they made a bad choice.”
If you would like to help Li as he tries to pay enormous medical bills and support his family while he’s out on unpaid leave, a family friend has created this gofundme to help him get back on his feet.