Man pleads guilty to 2023 murders of Bowling Green restaurateurs

BOWLING GREEN — A Bowling Green man pleaded guilty Monday to the September murders of the owners of Ninja Hibachi Sushi Steak House and the wounding of another person.

Xiaosong Wang, 63, was scheduled to stand trial Sept. 9 on two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of felonious assault, and two counts of possessing criminal tools. He pleaded guilty Monday to all charges and Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson agreed to forgo recommending life in prison with the possibility of parole.

He faces a minimum of 26 years in prison at his Oct. 24 sentencing, Mr. Dobson said.

According to authorities, Wang, who worked at the restaurant, lived in a home in the 500 block of Monroe Court in Bowling Green. The home had been purchased by the restaurant owners — Zhichun Huang, 36, and Bing Luan Lin, 40 — and used by restaurant staff as living quarters.

Wang, a Chinese national, was told he was being fired after an altercation with a fellow employee. As one of the owners attempted to give him his final check and evict him from the home on Sept. 17, 2023, Wang pulled one of two guns he had on him and shot the owner.

He then turned and shot the other owner and entered the house shooting at least twice more, wounding one of his former co-workers. When he was arrested, police found the two handguns and seven more loaded magazines on him.

Wang’s immigration status is unclear, according to the prosecutor. They believe his original work visa may have expired, but during Wang’s plea Monday he indicated he had applied for a green card that had not been granted at the time of the murders.