A Vigil, Then A Dance Party: How Monterey Park Marked A Deadly Shooting

At a candlelight vigil at Monterey Park City Hall, loved ones of those slain in an attack a year ago on a local dance hall shared remembrances before a hushed crowd.

The somber mood all but dissipated when survivors then decided to mark the date in the most fitting fashion they could think of: joining a dance party.

Many drove just a little over a mile from the vigil to the World Seafood Restaurant to waltz and tango to live renditions of songs like “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” in between dining on roast duck.

One particularly striking moment was when Cindy Lao, one of the survivors of the mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, guided a formation of line dancers to a Chinese pop hit called 'The Small Droplets of Rain in March" — the same song they danced to the night of the shooting.

Another survivor and the party’s organizer, Lloyd Gock surveyed the boisterous scene with a look of satisfaction.

“Look how happy everybody is,” Gock said. “This is the proof that we are still here, right?"

The party capped off a day of events to mark the deadliest shooting in Los Angeles County history.

On Jan. 21, 2023, a 72-year-old gunman fired upon the Star dance studio in Monterey Park, killing 11 people and injuring nine. Huu Can Tran next tried to attack the Lai Lai ballroom in Alhambra but his gun was wrested away by Brandon Tsay, whose family owns the dance hall. Tran fled the scene and was found dead later of a self-inflicted gun wound. Police have not provided a motive.

Eric Chen, a pastor who's been assisting survivors, leads the attendees of the dance party in a moment of prayer and reflection for those lost.

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On Sunday afternoon, more than 20 community leaders and state, county and local politicians met at a roundtable held at the Bruggemeyer Library to discuss the policy improvements in gun control and mental health care that have come about in the aftermath of the shooting – and what other work remains to be done.

Law enforcement was roundly praised during the roundtable for their response to the shooting. But Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, said she hoped in a future emergency that first responder organizations would reach out more quickly to community groups, who have the cultural competency to work with Monterey Park's Asian-majority population.

“I reflect back on so many missed opportunities in those first critical 48, 72 hours where we were not in close contact between the nonprofits and those first responder organizations,” Joe said. "Include us as real partners in your effort to reach the community."

Congress member Judy Chu, who represents Monterey Park, spoke at a roundtable also attended (from l. to r.) U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez; Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Wong and council member Vinh T. Ngo.

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A new law is expected to improve communication between first responders and the community.

Sponsored by Assembly member Mike Fong, who represents Monterey Park, the law require in-language emergency updates from public agencies that serve populations where 5 percent or more speak a language other than English.

After the roundtable, politicians joined local residents outside City Hall for a vigil where people held LED-lit candles.

Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez leads the candelight vigil at City Hall.

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At the vigil, the owner of the Star dance studio, Maria Liang took the stage.

“I’m so sorry for what happened last year at my studio,” said Liang, who was not present the night of the shooting. “It was a very tragic night. I lost eleven friends and because of that the studio is closed.”

Liang said she thought that life had mostly returned to normal in the community but she feared that for the victims’ families and survivors, “the emotional wound may not be healed.”

A candlelight vigil was held outside Monterey Park City Hall to mark the one-year anniversary of the shooting on a local dance hall.

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She described herself as still a bit “traumatized and nervous.” But she said she was hopeful that another tragedy could be averted through community engagement with gun control efforts.

The stage was adorned by paper lanterns decorated by community members as part of a project of the MPK Hope Resiliency Center which was opened last year to assist survivors.

In a sign of how much Monterey Park has changed and adapted, crisis counselors, many from the resiliency center, were on hand during Sunday’s vigil to speak with anyone struggling.

Counselors with the MPK Hope Resiliency Center were on hand to help anyone struggling at the vigil.

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Kristenne Reidy, the daughter of one of the victims, Valentino Alvero, shared with the crowd how difficult it was to go any event with dancing or singing without feeling a "tremor of sorrow and fear."

But she said she recently attended a dancing event for survivors and brought her three young daughters who danced so enthusiastically that "I could almost see my dad saying, 'See Kristenne, it runs in the family.'"

After the vigil, Reidy was part of the group that went to the dance party at World Seafood, where she smiled at her daughters as they loped across the dance floor.