By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS, Rafu Staff Writer
As much as it was a vigil and a memorial, there was definitely a mood of taking care of some unfinished business. Or perhaps more accurately, finishing the dance.
In the packed main dining room at the World Seafood restaurant in Alhambra on Sunday evening, Cindy Lao, clad in a bejeweled blue ball gown, led a small group dancing to the Chinese pop hit “The Small Droplets of Rain in March.” They were finishing the routine they had begun one year ago, only to have the song and dance interrupted by devastating gunfire.
The joy, camaraderie, sense of community security on that night were shattered by an act of senseless violence when a man with a home-fashioned firearm burst into a popular local dance hall and began shooting.
“Thinking about that night, all the lives that were lost, those who were injured, I still feel pain and sorrow in my heart,” Lao said.
Monterey Park marked the one-year anniversary of the mass murder Sunday, with a candlelight vigil and remembrance event at the City Hall complex. A large crowd joined civic leaders, community groups, first reponders, survivors and family of victims for prayers, music, speeches and updates on community measures and resources to help prevent such a tragic occurence from happening again.
“We all remember that day, so vividly because we were all doing something different,” said Monterey Park Mayor Jose Sanchez. “It was a day that was supposed to be the start of the Lunar New Year, a day full of festivities and celebration, a time to be with family and dancing. It was marred that night because of gun violence and tragedy.”
Park City Hall.
On the evening of Jan. 21, 2023, following community new year celebrations that had filled the day not one block away, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran walked into the Star Dance Ballroom Studio and began shooting, killing 11 people and injuring nine others. He then traveled the short distance to the Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra to continue his rampage, only to have his weapon wrested away by Brandon Tsay, who was on duty that night at the hall his family owns.
After being cornered by police near a Torrance strip mall the next day, the gunman shot himself to death.
“It’s so sobering, to think of what happened one year ago tonight,” said Rep. Judy Chu, the former Monterey Park mayor who calls the city her home. “It was just such an incredible crash, because we had this high of celebrating Lunar New Year that afternoon and that evening heard the horrendous news that 11 people had been killed by this madman.”
For his actions, Tsay has become a community hero, celebrated not only locally, but also on the national stage. He was invited by President Joe Biden as a guest for the State of the Union address last February. Biden issued a statement on the occasion of the anniversary, calling the attack “a heinous act of gun violence that struck at the heart and soul of one of the largest Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in our nation.
“In mere moments, friends and families gathering together in joy and hope were devastated by a senseless, horrific mass shooting. Jill and I continue to pray for the families of the victims and many others traumatized by these attacks,” he added.
On Sunday, Tsay said he is not the only hero that has emerged from the horrific events of a year ago.
“Together, we are not just victims, we are a community of heroes that thrives from a brighter and safer future without gun violence,” he said.
“We stand here in solidarity together and offer unwavering support for the emotions that still linger since that shooting,” Tsay added. “However, today is not just solely about looking back and understanding the sorrow. It is looking forward to recognize that there is an incredible spirit that has been displayed in our community. These bonds we have forged in the midst of such adversity have given us a rise to a united pursuit of hope.
“I think we honor the memory of those we have lost by embracing the promise of work towards a safer community.”
Kristenne Reidy, whose father, Valentino Alvero, was killed in the shooting, said at Sunday’s ceremony that much healing remains.
“I know for my dad and his friends, singing and dancing was the best way for them to express that joy,” Reidy remembered. “But the shock and the grief that came with their deaths traumatize me so much that every time I was invited to a party, especially one with singing and dancing, I couldn’t help but feel a tremor of sorrow and fear. With my dad’s final moments in the back of my mind. That’s why when the community comes together like this, it’s invaluable for helping us recover our joy.
“A couple of weeks ago, the city of Monterey Park hosted a dinner for the victims and the families affected by the shooting. It was the first time that I stayed out at a dance floor at night. And I even brought my three young daughters with me. Watching them spend a good hour dancing. I could almost hear my dad saying, ‘See Kristen, it runs in the family.’”
Among the efforts undertaken in Monterey Park and Alhambra since the shooting is a focus on improving access to mental health programs and community outreach.
Chu cited the support of organiztions like the the MPK Hope Resiliency Center, that have worked to support victims and families with emotional care, translation services, and accessing government resources.
Rev. Jason Ashimoto, senior pastor at Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles, attended the vigil, offering an attentive ear and kind words to those in attendance.
“I’m a resident Monterey Park, and a lot of our congregation lives in Monterey Park, so this event is very close to my heart,” Ashimoto explained. “I think mostly the comfort of presence is what we can offer. With being together, being honest and sharing how much pain you’re in and how much your emotions are affecting you, I feel like that connects with a lot of people. For us, we find hope in our faith, but I think there’s comfort in being together like we are this evening.”
At Sunday’s vigil, several speakers stressed the need for more stringent gun control. The Monterey Park shooting is the deadliest in L.A. County history.
“Since this tragedy here in our small community of Monterey Park, there have been over 600 mass shootings in this country, by far the deadliest year for our nation,” said Sanchez, who is also a school teacher. “I want to raise my daughters in a society that is free from gun violence and my hope is for my students to take civic action. We owe it to our kids. I owe it to my kids, you owe it to your sons and daughters, your grandkids, we all as a society owe it to our youth.
“Why do I share these statistics with you here today? Because in the last year, our city of Monterey Park has found no better way to honor our victims of this tragedy. That by leading the charge on gun control in our small little community, our council has worked tirelessly to pass gun ordinances to keep our community safe.”
Added Sanchez, “Gun violence needs to end. It needs to end here.”
In a statement last Friday, Chu vowed to continue pushing for stricter gun laws.
“I have introduced the Language Access to Gun Violence Prevention Strategies Act, to build on the president’s action to further strengthen ‘red flag’ laws and other gun violence prevention strategies by ensuring resources are disseminated in a culturally appropriate manner and made available in-language for immigrant and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities,” the statement said.
After the vigil at City Hall, many of the participants made the quick trip to World Seafood for a reception, where Chu delivered her remarks and some congressional citations to community groups and individuals who have organized recovery efforts and programs since the shooting.
Among those being lauded was Lloyd Gock, who survived the massacre and struggled to get his life back on track in the aftermath. To help in his own recovery, and that of others affected by the shooting, he established a support group for those needing assistance in moving on with their lives.
Gock, who led in organizing the post-vigil reception, said a potent message was delivered by the dancers, simply by taking to the floor.
“There’s a message we’re sending tonight, that no gun can kill our spirit,” he said. “[The shooter] didn’t win. We win. We’re still dancing.”
In his brief remarks to the large gathering in the restaurant, Gock asked the survivors in attendance to stand and be recognized. One survivor, who asked to be identified only as Jennifer, began to sob uncontrollably amid the applause.
“I don’t think I was crying for myself, but for those that were so unlucky that lost their lives,” said Jennifer, who was at Star Dance with her husband. Both were slightly wounded in the shooting, but were able to escape and were so traumatized that they didn’t wait for police or paramedics to arrive.
“We ran straight home after that. I prayed all the way from the studio, all the way, hoping everyone would be okay.”
As servers darted to and fro, serving dinner of shu mai and thinly sliced roasted duck to the more than 150 guests at the reception, memories of that bloody night last January took a back seat to the reason they had all gathered to begin with, before the bullets began to fly.
With the DJ blaring old favorites like “Let’s Twist Again” and “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” the parque floor rumbled under foot, and the room echoed with laughter and smiles.
They had come, after all, simply to dance.
Photos by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS / Rafu Shimpo