Monterey Park Shooting
On Jan. 21, 2023, a gunman opened fire into a dance studio during a Lunar New Year celebration. This mass shooting left 11 dead and many people impacted by the events.
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Lunar New Year Mass Shooting
Lunar New Year Mass Shooting
By Deenie Bulyalert
By Deenie Bulyalert
*Disclaimer: This article includes mention of acts of violence and death that may be difficult on some people. Please move forward with care and caution. Be there for one another.*
*Disclaimer: This article includes mention of acts of violence and death that may be difficult on some people. Please move forward with care and caution. Be there for one another.*
Amendment II
Amendment II
"A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" pulled from ConstitutionAnnotated.
"The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Is mass murder what the framers were talking about when they made this statement in the constitution? Were they expecting this many people to die using the justification of Amendment II? How many people have to die on U.S. land in order for laws to change? How many lives have to be impacted and displaced? Or is it a matter of 'who' and not a matter of 'how many'?
Photo from The New York Times.
As of Jan. 28, 2023, there have been "51 U.S mass shootings in 2023," according to MassShootingTracker. This does not include one-on-one gun violence, police brutality, or any other deaths in correlation with gun violence. In less than a month, we have had more murders via the hands of our own people and our own weapons than ever before. Hearts are aching and action continues to be nonexistent.
CELEBRATION turned into tragedy
CELEBRATION turned into tragedy
On Jan. 21, 2023, a group of people was holding a Lunar New Year celebration inside a Monterey dance studio called the Star Ballroom Dance Studio when a gunman opened fire at around 10:20 p.m. The gunman initially killed ten people and wounded ten others, but the death count went up to 11 when one of the injured victims passed away on Jan. 23.
The gunman then went to another studio called the Lai Lai Ballroom with, police assume, the same intentions to kill more people but was stopped by a member and fled. The suspect turned out to be a 72-year-old man named Huu Can Tran, who committed suicide in his car and was discovered by a SWAT team the following day after the shooting.
Chester Chong is the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce L.A. and he stated that "he believed it was a domestic violence crime," according to PasadenaStarNews. It was previously stated by CBSNews that "authorities said Tran had recently gone to the Hemet Police Station, saying he thought family members were trying to poison him." NBCnews states that the gunman had gone a decade ago to the Hemet police. There are no real motives for why he committed this act, but some believe that he was seeking his ex-wife as a target.
This was the biggest mass shooting since the May 24, 2022 shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Many in the area feel unsafe after the events took place. A day full of celebration turned into many having heavy hearts for the victims involved in this shooting.
If you would like to read more, then click the links below.
As more mass shootings continue to happen in the United States and the only action that comes out of these horrific events are news articles and misinformation, please continue to remember the victims who have passed on in one of the most terrifying ways a human can.
Please continue to remember the names and read the stories of the victims in the Monterey Park shooting during a Lunar New Year celebration. Let them not be remembered through this one event but also their accomplishments during their life.
My Nhan, 65 years old
Ming Wei Ma, 72 years old
Diana Tom, 70 years old
Xiujuan Yu, 57 years old
Lilian Li, 63 years old
Valentino Alvero, 68 years old
Muoi Ung, 67 years old
Hong Jian, 62 years old
Yu Kao, 72 years old
Chia Yau, 76 years old
Wen Yu, 64 years old
They were there to honor the next chapter of their lives and instead had their lives taken away from them.
what is Lunar New Year?
what is Lunar New Year?
The Lunar New Year is celebrated every year in many parts of Asia. It is the celebration of "the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar," as stated by the NationalMuseumofAsianArt. Lunar New Year is represented through zodiac animals. This year's lunar animal is a rabbit but, for other parts of Asia, it is a cat or another animal. It is typically a multiple-day celebration for people to come together and be with one another in a time of a new chapter and is celebrated in many different ways.
Lunar New Year dates back centuries, but "in 1949, under the rule of Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, the government forbade celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year and followed the Gregorian calendar," taken from History.com. After a while, though, more leaders became accepting of the traditions that the Lunar New Year holds and some countries even have implemented holidays for those who celebrate it.
People are now free to celebrate the coming of the new year in whatever way they feel. It is a way to bring connection, peace, and prosperity to oneself and the generations to follow.
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