crime
Deadly gunshots at Chinese New Year celebrations in USA
Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department addresses the assembled reporters during a news conference. photo
© Jae C. Hong/AP/dpa
Not a day goes by without gun violence in the United States. Now a gunman opened fire on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year celebration in Monterey Park, where many people of Asian descent live.
Fear and disbelief after the fatal shots at a Chinese New Year celebration in the US state of California: In a dance hall in Monterey Park, an eastern suburb of the Pacific metropolis of Los Angeles, a shooter opened fire on Saturday evening (local time), at least ten people killed and others injured.
The New Year’s celebrations in the Asian community, which were supposed to last until Sunday, have been cancelled.
Is it a hate crime?
The perpetrator has not yet been caught, reported Andrew Meyer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office at a press conference early Sunday morning (local time). The motive for the crime is unclear. “We will investigate in all directions to determine whether or not this is a hate crime,” Meyer said. It is still too early to answer this question.
The perpetrator opened fire on Saturday evening at 10:22 p.m. (local time). “When the officers arrived at the scene, they saw numerous people, visitors to the restaurant, pouring out of the restaurant screaming,” Meyer said. The perpetrator fled.
US President Joe Biden called on the population in Monterey Park to follow the instructions of the authorities and the police in the coming hours. “Jill and I are praying for those killed and injured in last night’s fatal shooting,” he wrote in a statement on Twitter.
The owner of a restaurant near the crime scene told the Los Angeles Times that three people ran into his restaurant and asked him to lock the door. They said the shooter carried so much ammunition that he could reload over and over again. Police are also investigating whether there was a connection to another gun incident in the neighboring city of Alhambra.
Tweet about the press conference
The US has long struggled with gargantuan levels of gun violence. Fatal attacks of this magnitude are sadly normal in the United States. The non-governmental organization Gun Violence Archive has registered 33 gun attacks with four or more victims since the beginning of the year. Firearms are often readily available in the United States.
The crime in Monterey Park is reminiscent of the deadly attack at an Independence Day parade in a suburb of Chicago last July. At that time, a gunman opened fire on the celebrating crowd, killing seven people. In November, a man shot and killed five people at a nightclub popular with gay, lesbian and trans communities in the US city of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Last May, an 18-year-old gunman massacred a Texas elementary school, killing 19 children and 2 teachers. The killing sprees reignited the discussion about stricter gun laws.