A police officer stands at the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, on January 22, 2023. Photo: AFP / Robyn Beck
The Los Angeles county coroner's office has started identifying the 11 people killed in the Lunar New Year massacre inside a popular dance parlor in Monterey Park, California.
Ten victims died at the scene of the shooting Sunday NZ time. Authorities today said an 11th person, a woman in her 70s, died while being treated at a local hospital.
The coroner's office confirmed the names of four victims. Three women - My Nhan, 65, Lilan Li, 63, and Xiujuan Yu, 57 - who were among the patrons who died in Saturday's shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The fourth named victim was Valentino Alvero, 68.
While not releasing the other victims' names, the coroner's office said the six women and five men who were killed were all in their 50, 60s and 70s.
Nhan's family said in a written statement released on Twitter that "we are starting the Lunar New Year broken."
They said Nhan, whom they remembered for her warm smile and kindness, had visited the dance studio on weekends for many years.
"It's what she loved to do," they said. "But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance."
Inez Arakaki comforts her son Zachary as they visit a makeshift memorial site in front of the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on January 23, 2023, after a mass shooting at the venue. Photo: AFP / Frederic J. Brown
Friends and frequenters of the ballroom identified another victim as Ming Wei Ma, believed to be in his 60s. He was a frequent presence at the dance studio, and friends told a CBS affiliate that he was among the first to rush the shooter.
"He was just caring, an 'others first, people first' kind of person," Ma's friend Eric Chen told local media.
Lauren Woods, a tango dance instructor at the ballroom, said Ma was "the heart" of the studio.
Woods wrote on her Facebook profile that Ma would greet her with a kiss on the cheek and say "my teacher! My teacher!" and "Love you! Love you!"
Other victims' identifications were withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The coroner's office said one woman who died was in her 50s and two other women, in addition to the ones identified, were in their 60s. Three men killed were in their 70s and two were in their 60s.
-Reuters