On Saturday night, the Monterey Park, California, community experienced a brutal attack—in the midst of Lunar New Year celebrations, a gunman burst into a ballroom dance hall and killed 11 residents. At least nine others were wounded, police said.
The festival was the most attended Lunar New Year celebration in the majority Chinese-American city near Los Angeles since before the coronavirus pandemic, drawing a crowd of about 100,000 people, Mayor Pro Tem Jose Sanchez told reporters. Following the tragedy, the Sunday celebrations were canceled.
A few minutes after the Star Ballroom Dance Studio shooting, the gunman—identified by police as a 72-year-old Asian man—made his way to another dance studio, Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra, and was disarmed by a group of people, including a young man who spoke to ABC News about the incident. The shooter then fled in a van and took his own life as police closed in on him, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday, per ABC.
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See below for ways you can help Monterey Park residents, survivors, and families of the deceased following the horrific shooting.
Donate
GoFundMe launched a page dedicated to supporting the people and families affected by the Jan. 21 shooting. So far, there are two verified fundraises:
The Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund is gathering donations to help the “many individuals who are now suffering from this senseless violence.” The fundraiser is being organized by Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, The Asian American Foundation, Asian Pacific Community Fund, Stop AAPI Hate, Gold House, Stand with Asian Americans, AAPI Equity Alliance, and Chinatown Service Center.
The Los Angeles-based nonprofit Classroom of Compassion is raising money for resources, supplies, and travel for the community. The organization will also be creating public altars to honor the lives lost in the Lunar New Year massacre.
The GoFundMe page will be updated with more fundraisers as they are verified.
Support
Soon after the shooting, the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management set up a Family Assistance Center at the Langley Senior Center located at 400 West Emerson Avenue for anyone looking to obtain mental health resources. People can also call the LA County Department of Mental Health 24/7 help line at 800-854-7771.
On Sunday, members of the Los Angeles City and FBI crisis response teams, the LACDMH, and the Red Cross came together at the center to provide food, aid, and mental health services for survivors. The Red Cross is also always taking blood donations.
“Volunteer blood donors are needed each and every day to help save lives. This tragedy illustrates that it is the blood already on the shelves that helps during an emergency. Type O negative is the universal blood type and what emergency room personal reach for when there’s not time to determine a patient’s blood type in the most serious situations. The Red Cross is grateful for all donors who generously give blood throughout the country to help patients in need,” the Red Cross said in a statement shared with BAZAAR.com.
A memorial honoring the victims has been established at the Monterey Park City Hall located at 320 W. Newmark Avenue for the community to mourn, per the city’s website.
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
