Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
In Monterey Park, Leaders Reflect On Year After Shooting
Congressmember Judy Chu addresses a group of national, state and local leaders convened for the one-year anniversary of the Monterey Park shooting.
(
Josie Huang
/
LAist
)
Topline:
National, state and local leaders convened in Monterey Park for the one-year anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles county history. Speakers, who included council members, Congressmember Judy Chu and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, honored the victims and spoke about the need for Congress to pass stricter gun control laws.
The backstory: On Jan. 21, 2023, a gunman attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, killing 11 people and injuring nine. He then tried to attack the Lai Lai ballroom in Alhambra but an employee wrestled his gun away. He died of a self-inflicted gun wound. The shooter had reportedly once been part of a ballroom dance scene made up of older Asian immigrants. Police have not provided a motive.
What's next: The roundtable is part of a slate of remembrance events taking place in Monterey Park. A candlelight vigil is taking place outside Monterey Park City Hall at 6 p.m. The event will also be lit by lanterns decorated by community members as part of a project of the MPK Hope Resiliency Center, which was created after the shooting to assist survivors.
Support for LAist comes from
After the vigil, a group of survivors is meeting for a meal and dancing in defiance, its organizer said, of the attack on their dance community.
Go deeper: One Year After The Monterey Park Shooting, A Ballroom Dance Scene Rebounds
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars. -
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Best of LAist