LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis led a moment of silence in remembrance of those whose lives were taken in the City of Monterey Park on Saturday night after a gunman entered the Star Ballroom Dance Studio and opened fire. The remarks Supervisor Solis provided during the Board of Supervisors meeting, as prepared for delivery, are below:

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Before continuing with today’s meeting, I would like for all of us to observe a moment of silence to honor the innocent victims of the senseless tragedies in Half Moon Bay yesterday and Monterey Park this past weekend.

In what should have been a morning full of celebration honoring the Lunar New Year, our community woke up to shocking news on Sunday.

Ten people were killed at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park after a gunman entered the building and shot at the crowd – fatally killing 10 people on-site and injuring another 10, with one of those, unfortunately, succumbing to injuries and passing away Sunday night – marking the total number of people killed to 11.

I’d like to take a moment to share the names of the victims – innocent loving members of our community whose lives were taken away too soon:

  • My Nhan, 65
  • Lilian Li, 63
  • Xiujuan Yu, 57
  • Muoi Ung, 67
  • Hong Jian, 62
  • Diana Tom, 70
  • Yu Kao, 72
  • Chia Yau, 76
  • Valentino Alvero, 68
  • Wen Yu, 64
  • Ming Ma, 72

Hours before the shooting, I had the honor of joining thousands of our AAPI constituents at the City of Monterey Park’s Lunar New Year Celebration – and it was beautiful to see the joy displayed on their faces after this event was postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But those smiles have now turned into sadness as we grieve this tragic incident.

We have a lot of healing to do.

There is still much we do not understand, and we will have to be patient for the investigation to conclude.

But what I do know is that this tight-knit community will continue to stay resilient.

I’d also like to take a moment to recognize the swift actions of the Monterey Park Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department under the leadership of Sheriff Robert Luna, the Torrance Police Department, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies that assisted in keeping our public safe.

Within a day, they were able to identify and secure the gunman and it was through your collective actions that this was able to happen.

But I’d also like to recognize Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old constituent from Alhambra who prevented further people from being killed by subduing the gunman at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio.

We are indebted for Brandon’s rapid response as his heroic actions prevented another tragedy from happening.

The County of Los Angeles stands with the community of Monterey Park during this difficult time and is ready to assist – whether it’s providing grievance counseling at the Langely Senior Citizens Center or other support through our 2-1-1 helpline – we are with you.

May the spirit of the Lunar New Year guide us these next few weeks.

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