‘I have walked those streets’: Monterey Park shooting devastates Sacramento Asian communities

Frances Sanchez looked forward to celebrating the Chinese New Year with her family in Roseville over the weekend. But when she received a message from her brother, it wasn’t to wish her a Happy New Year.

Instead, he informed her that a gunman opened fire at a Los Angeles area ballroom dancing studio Saturday night, killing 11 people and injuring at least nine more.

She learned about the shooting just minutes after it happened because it took place a mile from her parents’ home in Monterey Park, a community with a large Asian American population in Los Angeles County.

The suspect was later identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, police said. He was found Sunday afternoon in a white van, dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

While Sanchez is relieved her family was safe at home at the time of the shooting, the attack at the Star Dance Studio made it hard for her to be joyous on the holiday.

“It happened in a place I am very familiar with,” Sanchez said. “I have walked those streets, and I have walked past that intersection. It hit closer to home for me because of that.”

The speed at which Sanchez learned about the shooting underscored the connections between Sacramento’s Asian American community and Monterey Park, where Asian Americans are the largest ethnic group.

A number of Asian American leaders in the Sacramento region released statements mourning the victims.

“Lunar New year is one of the most important celebrations of Eastern and Southeastern Asian culture,” Interim Executive Director at Asian Resources, Inc Rejie Marie Baloyos said in a statement. “Today, our community is mourning on the day that is meant to be joyous and filled with celebration. This latest deadly attack in Monterey Park, CA, home of a high Asian American population, reminds us that more work is needed to protect our community.”

Sanchez was born in Chinatown, and her parents moved to Monterey Park about 20 years ago to be closer to friends.

“They have a big social life down there,” she said. “They go out pretty frequently. And in Chinese culture, we have big gatherings and a big reunion dinner (for Lunar New Year).”

Typically, the Lunar New Year is happy and celebratory and that is usually the tone set for the upcoming year, Sanchez said.

“What happened does not leave a good feeling going into the new year,” she said.

While Sanchez is relieved her family was home safe during the tragic shooting, she said that it left her with an ominous feeling.

She had plans to watch a local lion’s dance to celebrate the new year on Sunday, but no longer felt comfortable going.

“If you abide by traditions, what happened does not leave a good feeling going into the new year,” Sanchez said.