MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — Eric Ching didn’t know anyone who had been hurt in Saturday night’s mass shooting at a Monterey Park dance studio, but he made his way to a local senior center Sunday morning to see whether there was anything he could do to help.
The city, which has for decades been a gateway for Chinese immigration, has always been a quiet community, he said, where he “could go out at 12 a.m. and literally feel safe.”
“But now that’s just kind of been shattered,” Ching said.
His voice cracked as he described the mass shooting, which left 10 dead and 10 others injured.
“I’ve never seen a freaking gun in Monterey Park,” Ching said. “But it was here and it took the lives of 10 people, and another 10 are in the hospital right now fighting for their lives.”
Families and others rushed to the Langley Senior Center, desperately seeking information about relatives and loved ones who may have been the victims of one of California’s worst mass shootings in recent memory.
One woman, who did not identify herself, said her fiancé was hurt in the shooting.
“We know someone, but we lost contact,” she said as she crossed the yellow police tape around the entrance to the senior center, which has been converted to an assistance center in the wake of the shooting.
After she walked out, she stammered that officials inside the center didn’t know which hospital her fiancé had been taken to.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna encouraged anyone who believes a relative may have been a victim of the shooting to contact representatives at the senior center, 400 W. Emerson Ave. in Monterey Park.
“As we’re looking for the suspect, we will not forget the victims and survivors,” Luna said during an afternoon news conference. “And it’s important because you can just imagine the trauma that they’ve experienced, and it’s our responsibility to wrap our arms around them.”
The American Red Cross, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and crisis response teams from the FBI and the city of Los Angeles are at the senior center providing assistance to families, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Deputy Miguel Meza said. The family assistance center will be operational for the next few days.
A memorial has also been set up at Monterey Park City Hall, 320 W. Newmark Ave., “for anyone wanting to mourn” and express their grief, according to the city Police Department.
“The city of Monterey Park and the Monterey Park Police Department is grateful for the outpouring of support from the community during this difficult time,” officials wrote in a statement.
Ten people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park on Saturday night. The mass shooting happened 10:22 p.m. at Star Dance Studio, in the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue.
Authorities have not publicly identified any of the victims, describing them only as five men and five women.
At least 10 others were wounded in the shooting and taken to numerous hospitals in conditions ranging from stable to critical.
Four people were taken to L.A. County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights, though hospital officials declined to share additional information, citing medical privacy laws.
“We want to assure the families of those at our LAC+USC Medical Center that our medical teams are doing everything (medically) and humanly possible to care for their loved ones,” hospital Chief Executive Jorge Orozco said in a statement.
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(Los Angeles Times staff writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report.)
