Over the course of 48 hours, two gunmen opened fire on both ends of California, killing 18 and injuring 10.
unrelated massacre at a dance hall in angel The suburbs on Saturday night and a pair of mushroom farms south of San Francisco on Monday have dealt a blow to the state, which has some of the toughest firearm laws in the country and one of the lowest rates of gun deaths.
As communities mourned the dead, some Democratic politicians made repeated calls for tighter gun control at the federal level.
Let us know some special things related to the shooting:
what Happened in Monterey Park?
Hours after the city of Monterey Park held a massive Lunar New Year celebration, a gunman stormed the Star Dance Ballroom and shot 20 people, killing 11. Police Within minutes chaos and carnage ensued as people fled the club in fear – and others lay on the dance floor or collapsed into chairs at tables. The victims were older Asian Americans, mostly in their 60s and 70s.
The shooter, Hu Can Tran, 72, then went to the Lai Lai Ballroom in the nearby Alhambra, where police said he tried to carry out a similar attack about 20 minutes later. He was met by 26-year-old Brandon Tse, whose father and sister own the club, who decided to part ways for the weapon. After a brief struggle, they disarmed Tran.
Tran fled in a white van, where he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday morning.
The rampage cast a discoloration on the usually joyous New Year’s celebration, and sparked renewed fears in Asian American communities about hate and violence directed at them.
What happened in Half Moon Bay?
On Monday, a farmworker in Half Moon Bay who told a television reporter that his complaints about bullying and long working hours were ignored shot five co-workers, killing four, authorities said. He then went to a nearby farm where he worked and killed three more people.
Chunli Zhao, 66, admitted to KNTV-TV that he carried out the shooting, and said he was battling mental illness and was not in his right mind at the time. He later surrendered to police, and was taken into custody and held without bail.
Five of the victims were of Asian descent and three were Hispanic. All except two were in their 60s and 70s.
What will happen next?
Zhao is due to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder on February 16. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.
Detectives are still investigating the shooting.
No criminal charges are expected in Los Angeles County because Tran is dead and authorities said she acted alone.
However, the investigation continues as to what motivated Tran to kill her. So far, the Los Angeles sheriff said they have not determined a motive.
A longtime friend told The Associated Press that Tran targeted both dance halls and complained about the way she was treated. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Tran saw himself as a dance instructor and would give free lessons to women so that he would have a partner, and felt that teachers looked down on him.
But Sheriff Robert Luna said there was no evidence that Tran knew any of the people he killed and that he had not been to the ballroom in five years.
Tran’s criminal record only includes an arrest for illegal possession of a firearm from 1990.
How did shooters get firearms?
Zhao, a Chinese immigrant with a green card, told KNTV that he bought his gun in 2021 without any problems.
Authorities have said he purchased the semiautomatic handgun legally but gave no other details.
The sheriff said Tran, who was originally from Vietnam, purchased the submachine gun-style semiautomatic pistol he used in the 1999 Monterey Park shooting. The gun and the high-capacity magazine are illegal in California, and it was not registered in the state.
He fired at least 42 rounds from the gun variant of the MAC-10 semiautomatic machine pistol, taking the time to reload his 30-round magazine.
Luna said the semiautomatic handgun Tran had used to take his life was the bolt-action rifle found at his home in Hemet, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) from Monterey Park.
Why did it take so long for the police to inform the public?
in officers Southern California For more than five hours, he has defended his decision not to inform the public that a killer was on the loose following the dance hall shooting and subsequent attempted assault.
Monterey Park Chief Scott Wiese said police in the area had been alerted and there was no point in warning residents at night in the predominantly Asian American city, even though a potentially armed suspect was at large.
“I’m not going to have my officers go door-to-door waking people up and telling them we’re looking for a male Asian in Monterey Park,” Vice told The Associated Press. “It’s not going to do us any good.”
Luna, who is leading the investigation, said his department’s decision on when to release the information was “strategic” but promised to review the timeline.
Experts said authorities should have alerted the public sooner.
Which leaders have shown sympathy and support?
Pope Francis and President Joe Biden Sent messages of condolence and support.
Vice President Kamala Harris added a bouquet of flowers to a moving memorial outside the closed gates of her Monterey Park studio on Wednesday and, like many Democrats, called on Congress to enact stricter gun laws.
Harris said, ‘Sadly, we keep saying the same things.’ “Can they do something? Yes. Should they do something? Yes. Will they do something? That’s where all of us should speak up.”
Biden urged lawmakers to support a ban on assault weapons introduced by US Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Who’s the Hero in Los Angeles?
Tse has been widely praised for his heroic actions which were credited with saving countless lives.
President Joe Biden thanked her on the phone Thursday for “taking such incredible action in the face of danger.”
“You are America,” Biden said in a video posted to Twitter. “You are who we are. America has never held back. It is because of people like you that we have always moved forward.
Tse, 26, said she was comforted by Biden’s words.
The chamber of commerce announced Thursday that police in the Alhambra plan to present them with courage medals on Sunday at the city’s Lunar New Year festival.
While Tse said he was proud of what he had done, he told reporters outside his home on Monday that he did not want to discuss his actions, but instead wanted to focus on those who lost their lives and those who Were injured.