(Photo Courtesy of Los Angeles Times) “Families gather for a candlelight vigil to honor those killed in the festival shooting.”
Steven O’Hara
Connector Editor
On January 22nd the night of Lunar New Year, an act of hate and violence took place in Monterey Park in Las Angeles, California. A gunman walked into Lae Lae Ballroom and open-fired on a party celebrating Lunar New Year. The assailant took many lives before being stopped by Brandon Tsay, a 26 year-old who is being hailed a hero, at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Alhambra, California 20 minutes later. He fled the scene and was later found to have taken his own life during a police confrontation; their identity has not been released to the public. Currently, there have been eleven victims, all Asian-American, ages ranging from 50 to 70, and has sparked outrage within the country and the Asian-American community. Motivations behind this crime are presently unknown.
Those that have tragically passed include: Ming Wei Ma, 72 years-old and a dance instructor at Star Ballroom Dance Studio; Mymy Nhan, 65 years-old and an avid dancer that spent many years dancing at Monterey Park; Lilan Li, 63 years-old and loved by many; Xiujuan Yu, 57 years-old and had immigrated to the United States in the early 2010’s to create a better future for her family; Valentino Alvero, 68 years-old and a dedicated father and son; Yu-Lun Kao, 72 years-old and a devoted dancer for over a decade; Diana Tom, 70 years-old and a loving grandmother; Muoi Ung, 67 years-old and known and loved at Monterey Park; Hongying Jian, 62 years-old and known as ‘Sister Sunshine’ to most; Chia Ling Yau, 76 years-old and loved by all; and Wen-Tau Yu, 64 years-old and a loving father who was exploring his second career as a pharmacist. GoFundMe’s can be found to support the families who have been affected by the this shooting.
Sadly, acts of violence such as this are not the first that have happened in the United States. During the pandemic,…
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