To our community members, and especially our Asian and Asian-American colleagues,
We are writing about the horrific and tragic mass shootings that took place in Monterey Park, California on Saturday night and in Half Moon Bay just two short days later. These senseless instances of gun violence took the lives of eighteen victims and injured at least ten others. We extend our condolences to the victims and their families for the utter devastation they are going through. We are heartbroken.
The motives of these attacks remain unclear, but their impact on our community is undeniable. The shooting in Star Dance Studio, a dance hall primarily frequented by Monterey Park’s Asian immigrant community, took place blocks away from where the city had gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year earlier that day. 65% of the city’s residents identify as Asian, including its mayor. In Half Moon Bay, a rural seaside town, all of the victims harmed on Monday night were farmworkers of Asian or Hispanic descent. At a time of year usually marked by auspicious, inclusive, and joyous celebration with our loved ones, our communities have been wrought by acts of deadly violence—the most recent of 30+ mass shootings that have already taken place in 2023.
It is no secret the Asian and Asian American community has experienced increased violence over the past three years. Most recently, this was marked by the stabbing of an 18-year-old student not too far from us, at Indiana University. The absence of accountability and solutions towards a slew of incidents explicitly driven by hate (e.g. the 2021 Atlanta spa shooting) have not gone unnoticed, and these open wounds play an unmistakable role in our community’s fears and suspicions regarding the motives of these recent tragic events. To our Pan-Asian family: your anxiety and unease with the circumstances surrounding these shootings are reasonable. We understand.
As Asian community organizations, we build and support communities of all students with any degree of affinity to the Asian Pacific identity on campus. We understand, acknowledge, and share the profound shock, grief, and hurt that you all may be experiencing right now. We are all here to listen; if you would like to talk to any of us, please reach out.
Take good care,
Pan-Asian Resource Group
Pan.Asian.RG@gmail.com
Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
apalsa@law.uchicago.edu
Pan Asian Coalition, UChicago Biological Sciences Division
uchicago.PAC@gmail.com