These are the victims killed in the Monterey Park shooting at a Lunar New Year party
- The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has identified of the Monterey Park shooting victims.
- Ten of the 11 victims killed were in their 60s or 70s, officials said. An 11th victim was in her 50s.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has identified the 11 victims who were killed in a shooting at a Monterey Park, California, dance hall Saturday.
The shooting took place at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio around 10 p.m. local time during a Lunar New Year celebration, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office told Insider.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services confirmed on Monday that an eleventh victim had died after succumbing to "extensive injuries."
In addition to the 11 people slain, another 9 people were injured in the massacre. Six of those injured were still hospitalized for their injuries as of Monday. Jorge Orozco, Chief Executive Officer at LAC+USC Medical Center where four of the injured victims were treated following the shooting, said one patient remains in serious condition, while the other two patients are recovering.
Ten of the 11 victims were identified by officials as being in their 60s or 70s, and another victim was in her 50s.
The victims identified by the coroner's office are:
- My My Nhan, 65
- Lilan Li, 63
- Xiujuan Yu, 57
- Muoi Dai Ung, 67
- Hongying Jian, 62
- Yu Lun Kao, 72
- Chia Ling Yau, 76
- Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68
- Wen Tau Yu, 64
- Ming Wei Ma, 72
- Diana Man Ling Tom, 70
Local community organizations have set up a victim's fund to support those affected by the mass killing.
The sole suspect, who police have identified as a 72-year-old Asian man, was found dead inside a cargo van with self-inflicted gunshot wounds on Sunday after an hours-long standoff with a SWAT team. He died before he could be arrested.
Here's what we know about the people who died in the shooting so far.
My My Nhan
Nhan's family said in a statement that she "spent so many years going to the dance studio in Monterey Park on the weekends."
"It's what she loved to do," her family continued, "but, sadly, Saturday was her last dance."
They said they are "heartbroken" and "we never imagined her life would end so suddenly," adding that "if you knew her, you knew her warm smile and kindness was contagious."
A GoFundMe was created to help pay for Nhan's funeral.
Xiujuan Yu
Yu immigrated to the US in the early 2010s, and "she and her family have done their best to make a life for themselves here, leaving their past lives behind in China to craft a new future for their little family," according to a GoFundMe created by her niece.
The post said Yu "was in the middle of crafting that future with her husband and children, and now to have that journey suddenly interrupted is heartbreaking."
"Personally, this still doesn't feel real. It happened all too quickly — we never even got a chance to properly say goodbye," Yu's niece wrote in the post, adding on Facebook that she and her family spent "sleepless nights" waiting for news of her aunt.
Hongying Jian
Jian, who used Nancy as her English name, was dancing at the ballroom with her husband, Jeff Liu, when he heard loud gunshots and saw his wife fall to the ground, fatally wounded, NBC News reported.
They had been going to the dance studio together for about a decade.
"I'm calling my wife, 'Look, look, wake up, wake up!'" Liu told NBC, who sustained a shoulder injury from the gunshots.
Jian and her husband moved to Southern California from China more than 20 years ago, the New York Times reported, adding that they share a daughter.
Yu Lun Kao
Kao, who also went by Andy, was a longstanding member of the dance community in Monterey Park, often practicing his moves outside of the studio, people close to him told the New York Times.
Alex Satrin, one of Kao's instructors at Star, told the Times that Kao practiced "all day long, that's how much he loved dancing."
Kao immigrated to California from Taiwan 20 years ago, the Times reported, with his brother. He worked in construction business and was an "optimistic person."
Valentino Marcos Alvero
Alvero "loved music and dancing, always smiling," his friend, Bobby Escoto wrote on Facebook.
His family remembered him as "a loving father, a dedicated son and brother, a grandfather who loved his three granddaughters fiercely, an uncle who loved his nieces and nephews like his own," according to a statement from the family posted to Twitter by Alvero's niece, Karmel.
They asked that everyone "remember that Valentino is more than just a headline or a news story."
"He loved people and hearing about their lives and in return, he shared his own stories with so much gusto and enthusiasm that you couldn't help but listen and laugh along with him," his family wrote, adding "he loved ballroom dancing, he loved his community, and was the life of any party."
"We hope that he danced to his heart's content until the very end and hope that he is now dancing in heaven," the family said.
Wen Tau Yu
At 64 years old, Yu was retired and had begun schooling to become a pharmacist as a second career, his son told the New York Times. He was less than a month into the program.
Yu immigrated to the US from Taiwan where he was a manager at an agricultural company.
"He had always supported our family," Yu's son told the Times. "We were very close. I learned a lot from him."
His son said that he was someone who always tried to be"his better self," the Times reported.
Yu's family has no idea if he was actually a dancer. Speaking with the New York Times, Yu's son said he wasn't sure if his dad was a dancer, and was also unsure if he was shot inside of the club or while passing by.
Yu's family had a Lunar New Year party before he went out to celebrate with friends at the dance studio, his son told the New York Times.
"We found it bizarre that he never came back," Yu's son said. When his dad's friends told him he never showed up to their lunch plans the next day, the family reported him as missing.
Ming Wei Ma
Ma, the owner of the dance studio, was hosting the Lunar New Year's Eve party when the suspect entered the building and opened fire, the New York Daily News reported.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Ma immigrated to the US from China with his wife.
"He loved what he did," David DuVal, a dance instructor, told the LA times.
Ma's friend, Eric Chen, said Ma was one of the first people in the studio to rush the shooter.
"He was just caring, and other first, people first kind of person," Chen told local CBS News outlet KCAL.
"He was an extremely respected, very beloved, very caring teacher, instructor, extremely kind human being, and he's very much missed by everyone in the Star Dance community," Chen told Fox 11 News LA.
Chen told ABC News 7 that Ma has been respected in the dance community for over 20 years.
Diana Man Ling Tom
Tom, who was in critical condition, was initially wounded at Star Dance and later died on Monday as a result of her injuries.
"On behalf of Diana Tom, we, her family, condemn this senseless act of violence that has uprooted the lives of all the victims, their families and the entire API community at large," Tom's family said in a statement shared with ABC News. "We honor and support all of those affected."
Her family added that she was a "hard-working mother, wife, and grandmother who loved to dance."
"To those who knew her, she was someone who always went out of her way to give to others," Tom's family said.
Update January 25, 2023: This story was updated with the correct spelling of Lilan Li's name after the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said its correction of her name was wrong.
Correction: January 24, 2023 — This story has been updated with the full list of the Monterey Park shooting victims. Lilian Li's name has been corrected after the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office initially misspelled it.