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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.
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Josie Huang
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LAist
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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.
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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
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