The tragic death toll from the Monterey Park massacre rose to eleven, after authorities from the Angeles County Medical Center + USC confirmed the death of one of the four victims who had been hospitalized at the scene.
“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we are saddened to share that one of the victims has succumbed to his extensive injuries,” said hospital director general Jorge Orozco. “We want to express our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones.”
Of the other three patients, it was learned that a 73-year-old woman had been discharged.
On Monday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office identified two of the 10 people pronounced dead Saturday night as My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63. Two additional victims were identified in the afternoon as Xiujuan Yu, 57, and Valentino Alvero, 68.
Tiffany Liou, a reporter whose husband is a relative of one of the victims, was the one who released the names of two deceased on her Twitter account: My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63. Both were celebrating the beginning of the New Year Lunar at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where the killer’s wife was presumably located.
On the other hand, the dance instructor and owner of the salon, Ming Wei Ma, was identified by a friend as another of the deceased.
“He was a respected teacher, very loved and very caring,” Eric Chen told reporters.
They identify weapons and victims
In the city of Hawthorne, where Hou Can Tran allegedly committed suicide inside the van where he had fled after committing the massacre, authorities recovered two weapons, including a semi-automatic pistol with an extended high-capacity magazine, the police said. Sheriff Robert Moon.
However, so far no one has said how the serial killer obtained those weapons.
Biden promises help
During a phone call with Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solís, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, promised all the necessary help from the White House to help the families of the 10 people killed on Saturday by the night.
“What do you think we can do?” was the president’s question to Solís.
In response to the investigation into the mass shooting of 72-year-old Hou Can Tran, the FBI, ATF, Governor Gavin Newsom’s emergency office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and police were involved in the investigation. from Monterey Park.
But, beyond the massacre, the issue of the indiscriminate proliferation of large-caliber weapons in the hands of civilians resurfaced, particularly when prayers are not enough to end the violence or stop the bullets that kill people.
strict laws
And while California’s gun laws are among some of the strictest in the United States, in recent history three of the deadliest massacres have occurred in this state: San Bernardino in 2015, where 14 were killed and 21 injured; in a nightclub in Sherman Oaks, in 2018, with a balance of 12 deaths and 22 injuries, and Monterey Park, with 10 deaths and a dozen injuries.
The state has waiting rules and mandatory non-criminal background checks for firearm purchases, and prohibits military-style assault weapons.
In addition, seven years ago California became one of the first states to enact a “red flag” law that allows law enforcement to seize the guns of someone they deem a danger to themselves or others.
“We have sent letters and resolutions telling the White House and members of Congress that this [una solución] it has to be bipartisan,” supervisor Solís told La Opinión.
“Democrats cannot do it alone; We have to have Republicans help us change this, but every time something happens, we have little help…they just want to do the bare minimum.”
A Health Affair study reveals that between 2001 and 2010, the risk of death in the United States was 76% higher for infants and 57% higher for children ages one to 19.
During this decade, minors between the ages of 15 and 19 were 82 times more likely to die from homicide with firearms in the country.
“We know that many people are not right in their minds and they obtain these pistols or rifles in different ways or reproduce them with technology and can assemble it at home,” said the government official. “For my part, I see in the constitution that everyone has the right to have a weapon, but what happens when someone uses it to kill?”
Victoria “Nikky” Domínguez, policy director of the organization Asian Americans Promoting Justice in Southern California (AJSOCAL), said that in addition to being against violence, “we have many concerns for the safety of our communities and for the increase in shootings.
Dominguez acknowledged that while California has some of the strictest laws for acquiring a firearm, “this issue is a national responsibility, and we have to talk about what are the standards or policies that we want to consider in order to have safer communities for everyone.”
mental help for families
After acknowledging that it is a “dark” time in the United States, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger (District 5) acknowledged that the massacres have once again shaken security and a sense of stability in the country.
For the families, friends, neighbors and co-workers of those who were killed and injured, or who were directly affected, Barger offered help from professionals at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health if they feel alone, depressed, confused, or fearful.
For this, his office announced that the line (1-800) 854-7751 is available, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where professionals can help people confidentially and at no cost.
“We have also set up the Family Assistance Center at the Langley Senior Center (400 W. Emerson Avenue, Monterey Park, California 91754,” said the official. “The road to recovery will not be easy, but it is my hope that by being united we will begin to heal, we will be stronger and our faith will be restored.”
“Republicans won’t cooperate”: Judy Chu
“Prayers are not enough to stop the bullets,” says Chelsa Taruc, a young Chinese-American who lives a short distance from the ballroom where the massacre of 11 people took place Saturday night.
Taruc, like his neighbors, still cannot get over the trauma of witnessing gun violence in the United States.
Given this statement, Congresswoman Judy Chu, representative of California’s 28th Congressional District, through La Opinión, responded to her constituents about the real actions that the country has taken and should take to stop the nonsense of the continuous killings.
“My constituents are right. Prayers, thoughts and condolences are not enough. Just last year, Congress passed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act to fund crisis intervention activities such as red flag laws, closing what’s known as the “boyfriend loophole,” and requiring youth ages 18 to 21 years undergo enhanced background checks,” the congresswoman said.
This was the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly three decades.
“But this was the bare minimum that could be passed, and there is much more to be done as more innocent people are victims of mass shootings and these tragedies occur in more and more communities,” he added.
Chu noted that under a Democratic majority in the last Congress, the House passed multiple bills to prevent unnecessary gun violence, “all of which I supported.”
“Those measures would have prohibited the possession of accelerators or machine guns for civilians; 3D (third dimension) printed guns would have been regulated and would have required a background check on every gun sale or transfer.”
However, he lamented that these proposals could not move forward “because the Republicans refused to join us and listen to the American people.”
“As long as Republicans continue to side with the gun lobby and consistently oppose common sense gun safety laws that their own constituents support, we will not be able to adequately address the deadly gun violence that threatens us all,” the official said. of government.
“We need to hold wrongdoers to account, but we must also implement preventative measures to ensure that events like the one in Monterey Park this weekend do not continue to wreak havoc in this country,” he said.
“That means we need more elected officials in Congress who are willing to take these kinds of steps,” he said.
“The suspect in this weekend’s massacre in Monterey Park used a semi-automatic pistol that had a high-capacity extended magazine designed to inflict maximum damage in a short period of time,” he said.
He added that while this type of weapon is illegal in California, “our gun laws are only as good as our neighbors’ gun laws. That’s why I’ve been working to pass federal gun laws that will apply to every state in the country, and why I voted for the Assault Weapons Ban Act when it passed the House last summer.” .
This bill included a ban on ammunition feeding devices, such as high-capacity magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds. The Republicans refused to join their Democratic counterparts.
fundraising
On the emergency section of GoFundMe, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) and six other organizations started a fundraiser.
Support for
Helpline at (1-800) 854-7751, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where professionals can help people confidentially and at no cost.
The Family Support Center has also been set up at the Langley Senior Center (400 W. Emerson Avenue, Monterey Park, California 91754).