Geoff: Good evening.
The deadly toll of gun violence
is again our top story tonight.
Yet another shocking attack in
California, and then just a few
hours later, a deadly shooting
in Washington state.
Three people in Yakima,
Washington were killed in what
appears to be a random shooting
at a convenience store there.
Amna nawaz is co anchoring from
California again tonight.
Amna: We are outside the scene
of Saturday's horrific shooting
in Monterey park.
Even today, folks have continued
to file through to bring
flowers, say a prayer and pay
respects.
But even before all the names of
those killed in that attack were
confirmed here, news broke of
another mass shooting in
California.
According to the gun violence
archive there have now been 39
, mass shootings across America
in 2023 alone.
More mass shootings than days of
the year.
Less than 48 hours after a
gunman's rampage shook the
sleepy southern California city
of Monterey, a mass shooting in
northern California, 30 miles
out of San Francisco, left a
nother trail of devastation.
>> In a small town like this, it
really does bring it home.
Amna: Officials said a
66-year-old open fire Monday at
a farm and another agricultural
business near half moon bay, a
small coastal city of about
12,000 people.
He worked at the farm, and the
victims included Asian and
Latino farmworkers.
Officers arrested him about two
hours after the attack when they
found him at his -- in his car.
>> All the evidence we have
points to this being the
instance of workplace violence.
Our hearts are broken and we are
working together with the
community to heal this tragic
incident.
Amna: Even in a state with some
of the nations strictest firearm
laws, this month has brought a
wave of gun violence across
California.
Last Monday, six people,
including a teenage mother and
her baby, were gunned down in
the central Delhi, thought to be
linked to gang activity.
Then Monterey park, and the
killings in half moon bay.
Yesterday in Oakland, a shooting
left many dead and wounded.
The governor said he was meeting
victims of one mass shooting
when he got word of the shooting
in half moon bay.
Tragedy after tragedy, he wrote.
Residents continue to grapple
with the tragedy.
>> It is a roller coaster.
Amna: Nina is the director of
behavior health for the
chinatown service center, which
is providing help for those
residents in multiple languages.
>> We have other Chinese
dialects.
Amna: Why is it so important to
provide that in language
service?
>> The report -- rapport
building.
It is easier for them to open up
and make that connection, and
know that we understand each
other.
Amna: She says cultural
pressures and stigma often keep
people in insular communities
like Monterey park from seeking
help and flagging others that
could be dangerous.
>> Among the most underserved
population already aapi.
The cultural aspect of men in
Chinese culture, and
responsibility that they have to
carry the family name.
It is not top of their priority
to address and learn about their
emotions or express their
emotions, or -- and to get help
is low on their priorities.
Amna: Today officials released
more identities of those killed
on Saturday.
For this person who has lived in
Monterey park 40 years, each
name brings more pain.
>> As the faces start showing up
in media, you cannot help it
recognize someone.
Or they are either wives,
aunties, mother's of friends of
friends.
Amna: She says shooting here and
in half moon bay carried out by
older Asian men have shattered
her sense of safety.
>> To think many of us chose
this neighborhood, very often we
pick these neighborhoods for
safety for our children.
When shooters were not Chinese,
it was it happens somewhere
else.
Now we have back-to-back
incidents with Chinese we need
to deal with it and feel the
pain but we also need to set and
look at how do we prevent this?
Amna: And the streets here that
have been mostly still the last
couple of days are starting to
come back to life.
People are out and about, shops
beginning to reopen as well.
People tell us that immigrant
immunities like this are built
on hope and fueled by
resilience.
People here say they will rely
on both of those moving forward.
Geoff: As investigation into
half moon bay shooting begins,
the one into the Monterey park
shooting continues.
What if we learned about the
gunmen and victims?
Amna: Just today we learned from
the L.A. Corners office victims
in Monterey park ranged in age
from 57 to 76.
We are also learning more
incremental details about the
gunmen, about his life, from
people sharing stories.
The biggest question revolves
around the weapon, the
semiautomatic pistol with an
extended high-capacity magazine,
it is illegal and has been
banned in California for
decades.
Officials say they will look
into when and how and where he
got that.
I spoke earlier to the chief of
police in Monterey park, he says
the biggest question for him is
motive, how someone could do
something like this.
He says because the gunmen is
now dead, that is a question he
may never have an answer to.
Meantime, we are joined for that
and more I as special guest,
Erika moritsugu, deputy
assistant to president Biden and
white house's senior liaison to
the Asian American pacific
community.
Thank you for being here.
Erika: Thank you for having me.
Amna: You have just arrived.
President Biden announced vice
president Harris will be coming
tomorrow.
Why is it important for you both
to be here?
Erika: It is important to show
up when there is a crisis that
befalls a community that already
felt under siege, to be present.
That's why the president asked
me to come here immediately in
the wake of the tragedy, even as
it was still unfolding.
To be with a community, to
deliver his messages of healing
and condolences on behalf of him
and Dr. Biden, but also because
I am a member of the community.
This is my community too, and I
am a representative of the
president to the community but
also of the community back to
the president.
When the vice president arrives
tomorrow, it will be to be here
in the community, to lay a
wreath at the memorials, where
lights and candles and prayers
are replete and to meet with
family members and express not
just the wish for hope and
healing, but to put it into
action after we learn what their
needs are.
Amna: We've heard the
conversation around gun reform
come up.
President Biden has said he
would like congress to act to
pass an assault weapons ban.
When you talk to people here, is
that what they want to see?
Erika: It is, and that has been
reflected not just on the
margins, but irrespective of the
motive, we have a gun violence
problem and it is creating
terror and fear, and community
members, particularly community
members of color, they are
seeing an unfair share of
hateful violence and gun deaths.
Amna: Two does not make a trend,
the shooter here and in half
moon bay were both older Asian
men, typically not the
perpetrators of mass gun
violence.
What do you make of that?
Erika: When the president signed
into law the first gun violence
prevention measure, the first in
30 years, the safer communities
asked, he said at the time and
he will appear that it is not
enough.
Again, irrespective of the
shooters and what is not known
and that we will continue to
learn and heal from it, we
cannot ignore that there is a
gun violence problem and too
many tragic deaths, and Asian
Americans and pacific islander
communities live in fear, the
deadly violence that has beset
the community is a problem that
persists.
In addition to the fact that
there is a mental health crisis
I think besieges us all and we
can't forget to censor the fact
that there are victims and
families and surviving members
and community members and
friends and allies and neighbors
of the victims who are on a long
journey to healing.
Amna: There has been an
interesting study recently that
looked at gun ownership among
Asian Americans.
As you noted, Asian Americans
across the country have been
through a lot the last three
years, we saw a surge of
anti-asian hate during the
pandemic.
The study found that those
people who experienced that
racism were likely to buy a
firearm for the first time.
What does that say to us?
Erika: One of the things I have
observed is people are not
leaving the house, they are not
able to live their everyday
lives and that is also a problem
because the isolation people
feel in times of terror and fear
is not healthy either.
That's one of the things I have
seen on the ground when I
arrived yesterday, when I came
to the makeshift memorials, when
I spoke to community members and
leaders and allies and neighbors
, is the path to healing is a
long process.
It is not the work of a day.
One of the reasons I was honored
to be sent out here immediately
was to listen and learn from
community members and leaders
about what is needed on the
journey to healing.
Amna: Erika, deputy assistant to
president Biden and the white
house senior liaison to the
Asian American pacific islander
community, thank you.