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Information was emerging Monday about the victims of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, over the weekend that left 11 people dead and nine others wounded.
The dead include a woman in her 50s, four women in their 60s and a woman in her 70s, as well as two men in their 60s and three men in their 70s, according to Sarah Ardalani, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
The LA County Department of Health Services on Monday announced the 11th fatality, the woman in her 70s. Authorities said the initial death count from Saturday night’s attack was 10, with at least another 10 injured.
The shooting happened Saturday night amid Lunar New Year festivities at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in the predominantly Asian American Southern California city of 60,000 people.
The suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was found dead Sunday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the van he used to flee after a second shooting that a man thwarted, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. Authorities were still searching for a motive Monday.
My Nhan ‘loved’ going to dance studios in Monterey Park, Alhambra
My Nhan, whose family provided 顏美美 as a traditional Chinese spelling, was killed in the shooting, Ardalani said.
Nhan’s family said the loss of “Mymy” was still “sinking in” Monday, according to a statement from Nhan’s niece, Fonda Quan, which was shared online.
“She spent so many years going to the dance studio in Monterey Park on weekends. It’s what she loved to do. But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance,” the statement said.
Nhan, 65, was a “loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend,” the statement said. “If you knew her, you knew her warm smile and kindness was contagious,” the statement said. “Mymy was our biggest cheerleader.”
Family members said they “are starting the Lunar New Year broken.”
Nhan was also a frequent student at the second studio targeted, Lai Lai Ballroom & Dance in Alhambra, California, according to Maksym Kapitanchuk, a dance instructor there.
Kapitanchuk said Nhan had been one of his students since he began teaching classes after he immigrated from Ukraine in 2009. Kapitanchuk said Nhan brought friends and new dancers to his group classes – sometimes upwards 20 new people – which helped him get his career started in the U.S. and create a “family” of students at Lai Lai.
“It’s unfair, dance was her life – as soon as she finished work, she would drive to Lai Lai to take group classes or to take private classes,” Kapitanchuk told USA TODAY on the phone Monday. “She would help out at so many different parties, and she would buy many, many tickets, and she would just give them out to her friends just so they can go enjoy it.”
Nhan had been dancing for multiple decades with her dance partner and friend, Mike, who was injured in the shooting, according to Kapitanchuk.
Valentino Alvero was ‘the life of any party’
Valentino Alvero, 68, was killed in the shooting, Ardelani said Monday.
Alvero’s family said in a statement that Alvero was “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 the statement, Alvero loved ballroom dancing and his community. He loved hearing other people’s stories and would share his own stories with enthusiasm.
Alvero was also “the life of any party” and a devout Catholic, the statement said. His family asked people to pray for him by name: Marcos Valentino Alvero and to pray for the other victims.
“My dad loved God, he loved people, and he loved to dance. I hope he’s dancing now, in that great gig in the sky,” Alvero’s daughter Kristenne Alvero told Rolling Stone.
“We hope that he danced to his heart’s content until the very end and hope that he is now dancing in heaven,” Alvero’s family noted in the statement.
‘Heart of Star Dance Studio’ Ming Wei Ma rushed the gunman
The Los Angeles Times and CBS News identified Ming Wei Ma as another victim of the shooting. According to witnesses, Ma attempted to stop the gunman before he was killed.
“According to the chat, he was the first to rush the shooter,” Eric Chen, a friend of Ma, told CBS News. “He was just caring, and other first, people first kind of person.”
Ma, who helped manage the studio, was fondly known as Mr. Ma by friends and community members, the Los Angeles Times reported. David DuVal, an instructor at the studio, told the Times that Ma moved with his wife to the U.S. from China, where they had been part of a “semi-famous” dance group.
Lauren Woods, another instructor at the studio, said Ma was “the heart of Star Dance Studio” who had a “beautiful soul” in a Facebook post.
Woods shared that she saw Ma for the last time on Saturday before the shooting when he helped her find parking on the packed Monterey Park streets amid Lunar New Year celebrations.
Woods said she will always remember Ma and the way they communicated with each other.
“His English was not great, but he’d always say, ‘My teacher! My teacher!’ Always kiss my cheeks and say ‘Love You! Love you!’ Full of hugs and physically pick me up sometimes. It was always so loving when he would do this,” Woods said on Facebook.
Several other victims identified killed in shooting
Lilan Li, 63, and Xiujuan Yu, 57, were also killed in the shooting, Ardalani said.
Authorities were still notifying the families of the other victims, according to Ardalani.
Early Monday, Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo told CNN a list of victim names circulating on social media “can’t be confirmed yet.”
George Chen, mayor of nearby Torrance, California, told the outlet it was “possible” some of the victims were residents of Torrance.
One person hospitalized in serious condition
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services said Monday one of the wounded victims was in serious condition.
Officials speaking during a Monday press conference did not provide updates on the conditions of the injured people.
“Given the nature of the incident, information is limited. We’re doing our best to get updates,” said Monterey Park Fire Chief Matthew Hallock.
Vigils planned for victims
A memorial event is planned for Monday evening, and a community candlelight vigil is planned for Tuesday night at Monterey Park City Hall to honor the victims. Another is set for Wednesday outside Star Dance Studio.
“We believe that it is important for our community to come together to remember and heal,” Lo said in a statement.
Read more on the Monterey Park shooting
Contributing: The Associated Press
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