It was a joyous kickoff to the first Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park before the pandemic, with large crowds filling the streets sugar American near town angel for live entertainment, carnival rides and great food.
But tragedy struck the celebrations on Saturday night after a gunman entered the ballroom dance hall and opened fire, killing 10 people, injuring 10 more and sending panicked revelers into the streets.
The shooting that killed 5 men and 5 women sparked plans for a two-day party ringing in the Year of the Rabbit, which featured dragon dancers parading through city streets decorated with red lanterns.
Sunday’s festivities were canceled, although some Lunar New Year celebrations were also held in neighboring cities home to large Asian-American populations.
“We haven’t had a celebration like this in three years, so it was important. People came out in great numbers,” said Mayor Pro Tem José Sánchez, who was there with his 6-year-old daughter. He estimated that 100,000 people attended on Saturday, and the festival is usually one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations in the state.
The massacre sent shock waves Asian American communities across the nation, from San Francisco to New York, are prompting police to increase patrols in their cities in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
No motivation was given for the crime and officials said the suspect is an Asian man. But Asian American advocacy groups said it was another blow after years of anti-Asian violence across the country.
“Regardless of the intent, the impact on our community has been truly profound,” said Connie Chung Jo, CEO of the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California. The nonprofit had set up a booth at the festival and planned to participate on Sunday.
“For this tragedy to happen on one of our most important holidays … it feels very personal to our community,” she said. “There is still a feeling of being targeted and of being horrified when we hear about shootings like this one.”
The San Gabriel Valley is home to a diverse range of Asian-American communities, including people of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino descent.
Yingying Guan, 29, saw a crowd of police cars and helicopters overhead in Monterey Park on Saturday night. She didn’t learn it in response to the shooting until she woke up on Sunday morning to hear the news of the shooting.
Guan doesn’t know anyone involved, but she said she is devastated for her community.
“It is believed that families gather together to enjoy and just have some down time together,” she said. “So many innocent victims.”
The suspect was described as an Asian male. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said investigators believe he shot up the Star Ballroom dance studio, killing 10 people. Then 20 to 30 minutes later, he entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in the nearby Alhambra before men there wrestled his weapon from him and fled, Luna said.
“When something like this happens — and I never thought it would happen in our community — it’s very hard to process,” said Sanchez, who teaches in city schools. “So sad.”
Monterey Park is a city of approximately 60,000 people on the east end of Los Angeles where approximately 70% of the residents are Asian, mostly of Chinese descent. The area became a destination for Asian immigrants during the 1970s and 80s, when a real estate entrepreneur named Frederick Hsieh bought the land and advertised its rolling hills and warm climate in Chinese-language newspapers.
The city’s Lunar New Year celebration has become one of California’s largest. Sanchez, who is Mexican-American, said it is a Chinese tradition that everyone enjoys and reflects the diversity of Greater Los Angeles.
Its celebration was cancelled, but several other events across the region, including a parade in the City of Westminster, went on as planned, but with extra security.
The dance studio where the shooting took place is located a few blocks from City Hall on the main thoroughfare of Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park, a strip mall of small businesses dotted with signs in both English and Chinese. Both Cantonese and Mandarin are widely spoken, Chinese holidays are celebrated, and Chinese films are screened regularly in the city.
Lynette Ma, 28, woke up to SMSes from worried friends asking if she was okay. He had planned to take his mother to the festival on Sunday, but instead they sat down in a city park and accepted the tragedy.
“It was just the most terrifying thing,” she said. “It’s just terrifying because you never expect it to happen somewhere this close to home.”
He said that his family would go out to eat for the holiday, but it would never be the same.
Sanchez said a public wake would be held for the victims in the coming days.
___ Weber reported from Los Angeles.