At least 18 people died in two shootings in California in less than 48 hours. On Saturday the targets were dance halls outside of Los Angeles and on Monday farms near San Francisco. What they both had in common was the Asian origin of most of the victims and the two perpetrators.
After US President Joe Biden expressed outrage and ordered flags to be flown at halfmast on Sunday, he called for the “quick” passage of a bill restricting access to assault rifles.
“The scourge of gun violence in the United States calls for stronger action,” Biden said.
During a visit to Monterey Park on Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the uncontrollable spread of firearms in the country.
“It’s a shame,” said the Democrat. “We should do better, we should lead the world, not just respond to these myriad crises and keep offering prayers and condolences.”
“I’m in the hospital meeting victims of a mass shooting when they call me to report another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy after tragedy,” Newsom lamented on Twitter.
farms and dance halls
Monday’s murder in Half Moon Bay, just over 40 kilometers from San Francisco, occurred on two farms.
The seven victims are Chinese farm workers and an eighth person was seriously injured, according to the American press.
The suspect, a 67yearold man named Chunli Zhao, was taken into custody, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said, adding that a semiautomatic pistol was found in his vehicle. Corpus also noted that he had worked on one of the farms.
The tragedy came less than 48 hours after a man opened fire at the Star Ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, 600 kilometers south, a hangout frequented by Asians, on Saturday night.
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The attacker fired 42 shots, killing 11 men and women over the age of 50.
After the massacre, which also left nine people injured, gunman Huu Can Tran, 72, attempted to continue the killings at another nearby dance studio but was disarmed, fled and eventually committed suicide in his van surrounded by the crowd .Police .
The authorities were still working on Tuesday to determine the motives of the attackers.
“We still don’t have a motive,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna admitted Monday at a news conference at the Monterey Park studio.
Investigators are currently looking into the connection between the killer and the two dance studios, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited law enforcement sources.
Extreme vigilance
White House spokeswoman Karine JeanPierre said Monday the president had been briefed on the Half Moon Bay attack and had “urged federal law enforcement to provide any necessary assistance to local law enforcement.”
Given the Asian origins of most of the victims in the two incidents, China’s Foreign Ministry said it had activated a system of consular protection with its consulates in the United States.
According to a publication sent this Tuesday by the Chinese platform WeChat, she also recommended that her citizens pay special attention to the local situation and be extremely vigilant, especially avoiding visiting places of assembly.
About 49,000 people were shot dead in the United States in 2021, up from 45,000 in 2020, a year that had already seen a record. This equates to more than 130 deaths a day, more than half of which are suicides.
Most striking, however, are the mass shootings, which illustrate the ideological divide separating conservatives and progressives over how to prevent such tragedies.
The recent history of the United States is one of massacres where no part of everyday life seems safe, from businesses to churches, from supermarkets to nightclubs, from public streets to public transportation.
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