Think many of us are still trying
to understand what just happened
in Monterey Park over the weekend,
the overwhelming amount of grief.
I mean, here we are again
talking about another shooting,
and it's not even the end of January.
So tonight we are not going to
talk about the suspected shooter.
We're not showing his face
or even saying his name.
We're not going to speculate his
motive because multiple agencies are
investigating that and that takes time.
It could be days or even weeks before we
have an idea of why he did what he did.
That and the topic of gun legislation
or conversations for another day.
Right now I want to focus on the
Monterey Park community because we
know that eleven people have died.
That number has since gone up
since yesterday.
One of the 10 people who were wounded
died in the hospital just today.
We also know that all of those who
were killed were 50 and older.
That's eleven people who lost their lives,
eleven families whose lives
are changed forever.
So we're going to take a step back.
We're gonna process tonight,
and we're gonna take some time to
remember those who lost their lives.
So this is me. Me, nien.
She was just 65 years old.
A reporter from our sister station
in Dallas is related to Mimi.
And this is what she had to say about her.
She spent so many years going to the dance
studio in Monterey Park on the weekends.
It's what she loved to do.
If you knew her,
you knew her warm smile and
kindness was contagious.
She was a loving aunt,
sister, daughter and friend.
And we've also learned the
names of three other victims.
Alvero Valentino was 68 years old,
Leland Lee was 63 and Soljan
UE was 57 years old.
Now families are still being notified.
For the other victims.
We will share their stories
when we do no more.
But
Luke Cleary is in Monterey Park City Hall
tonight where the community is gathering
for a vigil in about 1/2 an hour.
Luke, this is a tight community.
What if family's been telling you?
I'll tell you, Alex,
people were stunned in the hours
after the shooting occurred on
what was supposed to be one of the
most joyous nights of the year,
the start of Lunar New Year,
celebrated by millions of people across
the United States and in particular,
celebrated by the predominantly
Asian American community that
calls Monterey Park home.
You know, everywhere you look in this city,
there are signs that Monterey Park is a city.
In the morning you see the flags
flying at half staff, you see the
growing memorials from place to place.
Just walking down the street you'll
see flowers and tributes and mementos.
We've been here since yesterday,
when the tragedy was still so fresh.
But in conversations today,
though, I can tell you we're
starting to get a sense of justice,
how resilient this community is.
And for instance,
today I spent some time with Kerry Gore,
who's a third generation Chinese American
who has lived in Monterey Park for 60 years,
who says her family's not canceling
their holiday plans this week in
spite of any security concerns.
I'm.
Worried. You know, we'll we'll have it.
It's Chinese New years.
We're gonna have our celebration
and give out little, you know,
Lacey and red envelopes
and things and family.
You know you need to be together.
I'm I'm going out to see my
son and my granddaughter and
daughter-in-law right now because
I need to give everybody a hug.
Yeah, you you
hear it right there.
People are finding comfort in one another,
in family and coming together.
We're going to be seeing a lot of
that emotion on display here as
this candlelight vigil starts in
just about 1/2 hours time. Alex
and I do want to talk about
Brandon Shay for a second,
and he was the one who confronted the
gunman in the lobby of that second dance
Hall and wrestled the gun from him.
Talk about brave.
Ohh yeah, absolutely.
If you've been watching ABC
Networks coverage of this or ABC
10 in the last couple of hours,
this we have exclusive security video
stills from the security video where you
actually see him struggling with the
gunman to take that gun away from him.
People are calling him a hero and
crediting him with saving people's lives.
Other victims that that could
have been killed as a.
The result of this rampage he spoke,
I think, some very profound words of
courage and what it took in that moment
for him to step U take a listen to this.
Well, a lot of people have been
telling me how. Much courage I had
to confront a situation like this.
But you know what courage is?
Courage is not the absence of fear,
but rather the ability to have adversity,
to fear when. If you're.
Fearful events happen such as this.
And in crises like this,
the people need courage,
especially the victims,
their friends, their families.
My heart goes out to everybody involved,
especially the people.
In Star dance studio.
And Monterey Park?
I hope they could find the courage.
And strength to persevere.
Hmm. So some powerful words
there from a young man that
many people are calling a hero,
crediting him with potentially
saving many more lives.
People are finding strength and
comfort in one another, and we'll be
here for tonight's candlelight vigil.
It's just another way that people
are expressing their support for
one another and finding strength.
Through this tragedy, Alex,
alright, we thank you.
And this moment, of course,
weighing heavy on all of us,
but especially that of the API community,
who has faced an increased amount of
violence just over the past few years.
So I wanna go ahead and bring in
my colleague Candace right here,
because you've been speaking with
different members of the API community
who specifically focused on mental health.
What have they really shared with you so far,
Alex? First of all, this is tough for.
Any community to have to go through,
but I want to be intentional and talk about
how this is truly impacting Asian Americans
and Pacific Islanders API communities.
And yes you're right.
I spoke with several health experts,
those also nonprofit organizations,
boots on the ground,
always ready to do the work every single.
Day, but there's a lot of emotion.
Raw emotion. Anger.
Disbelief. Shock.
Anxiety. Disappointment.
Quite frankly.
Right, and it's a lot to digest.
And health experts,
they're reminding people you
don't have to do it alone.
You do not have to cope by yourself.
And what are some of the?
Tangible, you know,
action items that they can do.
To even begin to try to cope,
heal like you said,
get over that frustration
that where do you start?
What are they saying?
Well, again, I did speak
with several health experts.
They're all pretty much so singing
the same tune, if you will,
the same note here and there
first saying to talk about it.
There's no shame in admitting
that you're hurt.
That you're disappointed, that maybe
you're scared don't know what to do,
so talk to a trusted friend.
A loved 1A family member.
But let's also be clear,
some people do not have that.
So where do they turn?
Where do they go?
That's where these nonprofit
organizations come in at.
And if you're not familiar with some of them,
then you can also be sure to maybe
speak with a health provider that
you might know of when you go to get
certain health mental health services.
What are some of the challenges for the A?
Oh, you know, you do have the
I have brown. Look, I have my list.
Alex, I don't mean to cut you short.
I I wanted to really,
really talk about that as well.
This is specifically coming from the
American Psychiatric Association,
where they say people and API communities
are least likely to seek mental health
services than any other race or group.
We have to ask ourselves, why is that?
And that's because of barriers,
that's because of challenges,
language barriers.
API people, communities,
they're not all the same.
Just like black people are not all the same,
just like Latinos are not all the same,
right? There's a lot of different languages.
And then let's talk about maybe
people who are within low income.
Communities transportation,
yeah, or even just trust.
Talking about mental health is
taboo within API communities,
so there also has to be that
trust and then not to also
forget to mention representation.
People within AAPI communities
want to be able to confide and
talk to people who get it.
And that is also someone who is a health
professional who looks like them,
who can speak exactly bottom line.
Alright, Candace, thank you so much.
We really do appreciate it.