By Darren Loo, Feb. 7, 2023
The CPP community was struck with sorrow and a feeling of insecurity after a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, left 11 dead and nine injured the night before Lunar New Year.
Monterey Park is about 17 miles west of Cal Poly Pomona and about seven miles east of downtown Los Angeles with many CPP students living around the area. Over 65% of Monterey Park’s population is Asian American according to the United States Census Bureau. The shooting occurred at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, late in the evening, where many people were celebrating the incoming Year of the Rabbit. Most of the casualties from the dance studio were also Asian.
“The shooting has made me feel much less safe in the city because, for one, throughout all my life, I’ve lived in Monterey Park and it’s always been a relatively safe city, somewhere I could walk around by myself and not feel like I’m in harm’s way,” said CPP history student My Quach. “But when the shooting was reported, we were all like ‘how could this happen here?’ and overall, I feel like it’s gotten a lot scarier living here.”
Quach also explained how many people in Monterey Park were worried that the shooting was a hate crime against Asian Americans. When news broke that the shooter was also Asian American, people in Monterey Park felt kind of relieved that it wasn’t a hate crime but also scared because this is someone from the same community.
After the Monterey Park incident, the shooter also went to a ballroom in Alhambra, a neighboring city to Monterey Park, where he was stopped by Brandon Tsay, who likely saved many lives. Thousands, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Gavin Newsom, have gathered in Monterey Park for vigils to honor the 11 victims that passed away from the shooting.
Jerry Kwan, a social justice leader of the Asian and Pacific Islander Student Center, as well as a resident of a neighboring city,…
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