I had the honor (finally) of coming to see many of the survivors of the Monterey Park shooting that occured on January 11, 2023 in which 11 people were killed and at least 9 wounded. There was a many who had attended Star Dance Studio years previously, and he had developed some kind of mental condition. I would guess it was schizophrenia, and then he went into the studio with some sort of automatic rifle, and killed many dancer’s from the studio I worked for so many years.
For a little more info, there is a thread about the Monterey Park Shooting on Dance Forums, and here is an interview I did: David DuVal Washington Post Interview, and also assembled some links about the Monterey Park Shooting on this site.
I fortunately was not there that night, but my student was there, along with one or here friends, so I accompanied her to the event this past Monday evening. I had the opportunity to converse with the studio owner, as well as Kevin. Kevin was a dance teacher there, and two bullets penetrated is leg, and even shattered his femur, but fortunately he was able to recover mostly, but maybe he will never be able to dance like before. Also, I met Jim who blocked his girlfriend and dance partner with his body. She was not even grazed by a bullet, but he got hit by two bullets, including one that lodged near his spine, and cannot be removed. He is 78 years old, and doing pretty well considering what happened.
Here are a few pictured from the event, including the MC, Draco Guan, who created a non-profit called Asian Minds Matter. I also met a Monterey Park City Council member named Henry Lo. And of course it was good to meet with previous owner of the studio, Maria. I say previous owner, because she chose not to re-open the studio. I know the Mayor of Diamond Bar was also there, but I don’t recall his name.
Oh, and I should mention, there was plenty of dancing that night!