Monterey Park Mourns 11 Lives, Community's Sense Of Safety

MONTEREY PARK, CA — Hundreds gathered this week in Monterey Park to mourn 11 lives and the sense of safety their community lost in Saturday’s mass shooting.

Survivor Daniel Hsiu told CBS News while attending a vigil Tuesday at City Hall how he watched his friends die and is haunted by images of the violence when he shuts his eyes.

“My memory won’t go away,” he told the outlet.

The shooting occurred shortly after 10 p.m. at Star Dance Studio following a Lunar New Year celebration, according to law enforcement. Immediately afterward, the gunman went to Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, but was stopped by an employee and fled, before fatally shooting himself the following day inside a van in Torrance, police said.

Authorities have identified the victims as Mymy Nhan, 65; Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Lilan Li, 63; Xiujuan Yu, 57; Ming Wei Ma, 72; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; Hongying Jian, 62; Yu-Lun Kao, 72; Chia Ling Yau, 76; Wen-Tau Yu, 64; and Diana Man Ling Tom, 70. Nine people were also injured.

Outside the Monterey Park studio’s gates, mounds of flowers sprung up, while wooden hearts in memory of the victims were erected outside City Hall. One woman worried she hadn’t brought enough flowers for all the memorial markers.

“There are so many,” she said.

Another vigil was planned for Wednesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom visited the area Monday and Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to be in Monterey Park on Wednesday night.

“There’s something about being with others who feel just as sad as you do,” Enrique Hernandez told the Los Angeles Times at a vigil Monday. “You don’t feel so alone.”

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California created a GoFundMe page called the Monterey Park Lunar New Year Victims Fund to help the families affected by the shooting. As of Wednesday morning, it had raised well over $600,000 toward its $750,000 goal as the community rallied around the victims.

California suffered a second deadly mass shooting in less than three days on Monday afternoon when a gunman killed seven people at two locations in Half Moon Bay, about 28 miles south of San Francisco. The suspected shooter was later arrested.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.