One year after Monterey Park shooting, grief and healing continue
Good morning. It’s Monday, Jan. 22. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- One year after Monterey Park shooting, grief and healing continue.
- Researchers find that even wind and fertilizer contain microplastics.
- Gen Z is fueling a shopping mall comeback.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
One year after Monterey Park shooting, grief and healing continue
One year ago Sunday, a night that began with joyful dancing turned to terror and violence for a community celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Eleven people were killed and nine injured when a gunman opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park. The man targeted a second dance studio in neighboring Alhambra about 20 minutes later but was thwarted by Brandon Tsay, who wrestled the gun from the shooter before he could fire.
The gunman, later identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, fled the scene. The following day, he killed himself as police approached his van in a Torrance strip mall.
The 11 people he killed in Monterey Park were all Asian Americans, ranging in age from 57 to 76. Their names:
- Ming Wei Ma
- Mymy Nhan
- Diana Man Ling Tom
- Xiujuan Yu
- Valentino Marcos Alvero
- Yu Lun Kao
- Hongying Jian
- Wen Tau Yu
- Chia Ling Yau
- Muoi Dai Ung
- LiLan Li
The mass shooting rippled through the San Gabriel Valley, home to many residents of Asian heritage. About 65% of Monterey Park residents identify as Asian, according to U.S. census data.
Times reporter Summer Lin spoke with survivors, victims’ families and first responders, who shared their journeys of grief and healing over the past year.
The family of Diana Man Ling Tom recently met with the firefighters who tended to her wounds and took her to the hospital last year. Loved ones were able to say their goodbyes before she died, and they expressed their gratitude to first responders for making that possible.
“For most survivors of a mass shooting, terrorist bombing or other tragedy, anniversaries only revive the pain and reawaken the heartache of lost family and friends,” Summer wrote this weekend. “For many, keeping active helps them move forward.”
Lloyd Gock was dancing at the Star Ballroom that night and survived by hiding behind a table when the gunman opened fire. He’s kept himself vocal and busy, forming a support group for other survivors, lobbying for gun control in Washington and fighting against the stigma of mental health issues in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
He recounted to Summer something he told fellow survivors. They all have two birthdays now: “You have the day you were born, and you have Jan. 21, 2023.”
In the year since the shooting, Monterey Park leaders have passed rules to limit gun sales. State lawmakers passed (and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed) several gun control laws, including one that bars licensed owners from carrying in many public places. The ban is facing legal challenges.
In a statement, President Biden marked the one-year anniversary of the “heinous” shooting and a separate mass shooting three days later in Half Moon Bay in which seven were killed.
He noted the legislative efforts made in California to curb gun violence but said Congress needs to step up too.
“It’s long past time we banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, ended immunity from liability for gun manufacturers, passed a national red flag law, enacted universal background checks and required safe storage of guns,” Biden said.
Today’s top stories
Environment
- A team of UCLA researchers has found that wind picks up microplastics from human-sewage-based fertilizers and may be an “underappreciated” source of airborne plastic bits, flakes and threads.
- After several storms moved through L.A. over the weekend, rain is expected to continue through Monday.
Politics
- The controversy surrounding Harvard and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman shows how plagiarism-detection programs have became an unlikely political weapon.
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Sunday that he was suspending his presidential bid , days before the New Hampshire primary.
- A California congressman (and former Bernie booster) tries to get New Hampshire voters to write in Biden.
Crime, courts and law enforcement
- The Los Angeles Police Commission has begun considering an interim LAPD chief to replace Michel Moore, who is set to step down next month.
- An attorney for the family and co-worker of slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins said her clients welcome the upcoming criminal trial of Alec Baldwin after a New Mexico grand jury charged the actor with involuntary manslaughter.
- He killed his ex-girlfriend with a bomb in an Aliso Viejo spa. He’ll spend life in prison.
- A Torrance aviator restored a small plane with hopes of using it as a training tool. Theft torched his dream.
- More than 100 bronze plaques stolen from Carson cemetery; second cemetery hit in area.
More big stories
- Thousands of CSU faculty vow to “shut down” campuses in first systemwide strike, set to begin today.
- After the program ran out of money, California is once again offering affordable loans to first-time homebuyers — with a catch.
- Starting in 2026, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration will ban humor from highway signs. The agency says the signs can distract drivers.
- NASA has finally figured out how to open a $1-billion canister, months after a spacecraft containing samples of a 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid landed on Earth.
- The Rams are cautious about the team’s Super Bowl ambitions after an unexpected 10-win season and a run to the playoffs.
- Luis Vasquez, known for the post-punk project the Soft Moon, and Juan Mendez, a popular Los Angeles DJ, were among three people found dead last week at a downtown Los Angeles loft.
Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.
Commentary and opinions
- Paul Thornton: If you want to leave, fine. But don’t insult California on the way out.
- Opinion: In L.A., real estate envy is all too real. I can’t stop looking at Zillow.
- Mark Z. Barabak: A snarky comment and presidential apology show our politics don’t always have to be lousy.
- Opinion: Why do Arizona Republicans keep dressing up like cowboys?
- Times editorial board: Reelect George Gascón as Los Angeles County district attorney.
- Opinion: Clean drinking water is a human right. Why are so many California communities without it?
- Opinion: California’s new rules allow COVID-positive kids in school. Here’s the problem.
- Opinion: Do you love avocados? Do you know what that’s doing to Mexico?
Today’s great reads
Malls have rebounded thanks to an unlikely source: Gen Z. Retail experts say these young shoppers have helped malls bounce back after the downturn brought on by the pandemic, in part because the digital space has turned Gen Z into a generation that expects instant gratification. The immediacy of touching, trying out and buying products may be the thing driving them to physical stores.
Related great reads
- Columnist Patt Morrison on the death — or not? — of L.A.’s shopping malls.
- Science can explain a broken heart. Could science help heal mine?
- Why does the Hall of Fame include so few players wearing L.A. Dodgers caps?
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🌭🍹 Meet the new Smorgasburg L.A. vendors for 2024 — including the Cambodian cowboy.
- 🎬 Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” a sleek and sublimely nimble ghost story, jolted Sundance Film Festival. Here’s our review.
Staying in
- 🏡 Is an ADU right for you? L.A. homeowners and experts share what you need to know.
- 📲 Moms and non-binary parents, join our early childhood education team in this new L.A.-based moms group on Facebook.
- 🥘🥬 Perk up grey weather with bright firecracker vegetable tempura lettuce wraps.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
And finally ... a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Today’s great photo is from Deb Parkins of Los Angeles: Tower Bridge in Sacramento. Deb writes that it’s “a golden gem dedicated in 1935 but gaining its color in 1976, America’s bicentennial year. ... The bridge appears in the river city landscape like a proud beacon, evoking my fond memories of growing up in our state capital.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
