California falls victim to mass shootings
The first month of this new year is marked by unprecedented gun violence. The shootings of January killed 90 people across the U.S., twice as many as last year, including 26 in California, all in a span of one week.
A shooting in the early morning of Jan. 16 in Goshen, California, left six dead, five of them being members of the Parraz family, and the other a family friend. The victims include a 16 year-old mother and her 10 month-old son, who were killed while attempting to escape. Police arrested Angel Uriarte, 35, and Noah Beard, 25, members of the Norteno gang for the murders. The victims’ family is part of a rival gang, and according to past court documents, Uriarte and the Parraz family have had conflict in the past.
Less than a week later, another shooting took place in Monterey Park on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Jan. 21, at Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The gunman, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, fired 42 rounds into the studio, killing 11 people and injuring 9 more, before going to another nearby dance studio where the gun was wrestled away from him. Tran fled the scene and was later found dead in a white van near Torrance, California. Tran is now the oldest mass shooter in at least five decades, more than double the age of an average mass shooter.
Monterey Park locals are shocked at the sudden violence, especially the timing of it. Mayor Henry Lo is no exception to these local sentiments. “The lunar new year, it’s a time of renewal, of optimism for the future. And so it’s just cast a pall. A lot of people are still in disbelief that this happened,” Lo said.
Just two days later, on Jan. 23, another shooting took place on two farms in Half Moon Bay. Chunli Zhao is now under custody for carrying out these murders and has confessed, reportedly expressing regrets for the killings. He claims he was bullied in the past on the farm but his complaints were ignored by the farm. The last straw for him was when he was ordered to pay $100 for damaging a forklift, and after unsuccessfully disputing the fine, he shot his supervisor and another co-worker. After shooting and killing a total of four workers and injuring a fifth, he went to a farm he had previously worked and fatally shot three former co-workers.
These, however, are just a few of the many shootings, and a few of the many victims of gun violence this year. In light of these shootings, governor Gavin Newsom and his allies in the California legislature are pushing for more gun reform laws, such as restricting gun carry in public spaces, and are livid at the continuing gun violence: “Weapons of pure mass destruction, the fact that is not being addressed in this country is comical. It’s a disgrace; it’s offensive, to the senses, to common sense, to dignity,” Newsom said.
