This image taken with a drone shows Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif. AP
Washington, United States: President Joe Biden on Sunday ordered all US flags at public buildings to be flown at half-staff to honour the victims of the mass shooting in Monterey Park, California.
Biden directed that flags be lowered until sunset on January 26 “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on January 21, 2023, in Monterey Park, California,” a White House statement said.
The shooting late Saturday in the predominantly Asian American community of Monterey Park cast a shadow over the New Year’s festivities and sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities in the Los Angeles area. Other cities sent extra officers to watch over the celebrations.
The shooting that left five men and five women dead brought a jarring end to the planned two-day party to ring in the Year of the Rabbit, which featured dragon dancers parading through downtown streets decorated with red lanterns.
Sunday’s festivities were cancelled, though some Lunar New Year celebrations went on in neighbouring cities also home to large Asian American populations.
“We haven’t had a celebration like this in three years, so this was momentous. People came out in droves,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jose Sanchez, who was there with his 6-year-old daughter. He estimated 100,000 people attended Saturday, and the festival is typically one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations in the state.
The massacre sent shock waves through Asian American communities around the nation, prompting police from San Francisco to New York to step up patrols at Lunar New Year celebrations in their own cities.
No motivation for the crime has been given and authorities said the suspect was a 72-year-old Asian man. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday the man killed himself as police officers closed in on the van he used to flee.
But Asian American advocacy groups said it was another blow after years of high-profile anti-Asian violence around the country.
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