MONTEREY PARK, United States – The “Year of the Rabbit” began in horror on Sunday for the inhabitants of Monterey Park, the largely Asian American suburb of Los Angeles where a mass shooting left 10 people dead.
In this city of 60,000 people, red lanterns and banners in Chinese characters celebrating the Lunar New Year still fluttered over a roadway.
But around the dance hall where the shooting unfolded, yellow police tape and heavily armed policemen supplanted any sign of festivities.
Monterey Park Shock
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen here,” said Wynn Liaw, a neighbor who came to this popular senior citizens’ venue after hearing news bulletins.