Another shooting hits California’s Asian community – 01/24/2023 at 17:20

Police officers at the scene of another shooting in an Asian community in Half Moon Bay, California on January 23, 2023 (AFP / Susana BATES)

A new shooting spree in an Asian community in California on Tuesday came after seven people were killed at ranches on Monday and 11 people were killed at a nightclub last weekend, the motive of which has not been identified. Not clarified.

California Governor Gavin Newsom lamented on Twitter, “While I’m pulled aside to report yet another shooting, I’m at the hospital visiting gun victims. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy after tragedy.”

Chunli Zhao, a 67-year-old man suspected of having attacked two farms near San Francisco, is in custody, San Mateo County Police Chief Christina Corpus said.

All seven victims were Chinese farm workers and an eighth person was seriously injured, he said, adding that a semi-automatic handgun was found in the arrested person’s vehicle.

A California map tracing Half Moon Bay, where several people were killed on farms on Monday (AFP/

The tragedy came less than 48 hours after a man fired 42 rounds into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, about 600 kilometers south, on Saturday night, killing 11 men and women in their 50s.

After the massacre, which left nine people injured, the shooter, Hu Can Tran, 72, tried to continue his murderous evening at another dance hall not far away, but was disarmed there and then fled and killed himself in his van. by the police.

– “No intention” –

There are many gray areas in this skepticism. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, his criminal record only lists a 1994 arrest for illegal possession of a firearm.

A memorial to the victims of the Monterey Bay shooting in California on January 23, 2023 (AFP / Frederic J. BROWN)

“We don’t have a motive yet,” the sheriff admitted at a news conference Monday.

Investigators are currently looking into the killer’s connections between the two dance halls, particularly the relationship he had there, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing police sources.

On Sunday, a local businessman had already mentioned to AFP a trace of possible jealousy to explain the massacre.

“The wife was invited to the party, but the husband couldn’t,” said Chester Chong, an acquaintance of the dance instructor. “And the husband may be angry and jealous.”

– “Type Without History” –

Many residents were in despair on Monday in this city of 60,000 souls near Los Angeles, with an Asian majority and known for its peace.

11 people were killed in a shooting at Star Dance Studios in Monterey Bay, California on January 23, 2023 (AFP / Frederic J. BROWN).

Hu Can Tran immigrated to the United States from China and his ex-wife told CNN that they met at the same star ballroom dance studio two decades ago.

The couple quickly married, but the union did not last.

He is not violent towards her, but sometimes loses his temper if he feels insulted, for example if she misses a dance step.

US mass shootings: record start to year (AFP / )

According to a former friend interviewed by the American channel, the killer diligently frequented the dance hall, although he was “hostile to many people”, whom he accused of “bad things about him”.

A search of his mobile home in Hemet, about 140 km east of Los Angeles, turned up a gun and ammunition, Luna said.

President Joe Biden expressed his anger and ordered federal flags lowered to half-staff.

– “So sudden” –

Visiting Monterey Park on Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed the uncontrolled proliferation of guns in the United States.

A woman and child pray in front of a memorial to the victims at the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California on January 23, 2023 (AFP / Frederic J. BROWN).

“It’s a shame,” the Democrat blasted. “We need to do better than that, not only respond to these myriad crises, but we need to lead the world without repeating those poor prayers and condolences.”

About 49,000 people will die from gunshots in the US in 2021, and 45,000 in 2020, already a record year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.

The Los Angeles medical examiner identified four of the victims as: Mai Nan, 65, Valentino Alvero, 68, Xiujuan Yu, 57, and Lilan Li, 63.

“We enter the Lunar New Year with broken hearts. We never imagined that she could die so suddenly,” My Nan’s family said on social media.

A January 22, 2023, shooting by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department of a suspect in Monterey Park, Calif. (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department/Manual)

Died Sunday in Torrance, about 45 km from Monterey Park, Hu Can Tran might have caused more casualties without the heroism of an employee of an establishment not far from where he intended to carry out his massacre.

Brandon Tsai, 26, told the New York Times that “my heart stopped” when the killer aimed his weapon. “At that point, survival instinct” took over, and he successfully pounced on the individual, preventing further carnage.