AAPI community leaders seek solutions...

members of the Hispanic community, but there continues to be little to no clear explanations for what led to these tragedies.

With the proximity of these attacks and the widely celebrated Lunar New Year, the Asian American community is on high alert, especially as it tries to move on from wrongly being placed in the crosshairs of racist violence and harassment during the peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gloria Pan, Senior Vice President, National Member Engagement, Campaign Innovations & Gun Control at MomsRising, said in a national press briefing, “This was a horrific intrusion on one of our most cherished holidays” and that following the string of anti-Asian attacks, the Asian American community is “feeling more unsafe than ever.”

The many families of these victims are still healing and reeling from the sudden deaths of their loved ones, most of whom were in the coveted twilight years of their lives. Seeking solutions or pondering what could have been done to prevent these tragedies won’t bring back their loved ones, but it’s crucial to prevent these kinds of attacks from happening, Pan said.

It’s important to point out that it is unclear if the motivations behind these murders were related to any hate crime, as defined by the U.S. Department of Justice, in the way that the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings were.

Investigators of the Monterey Park massacre have yet to confirm a motive for the shootings; the shooter killed himself the following day.

A Half Moon Bay prosecutor told reporters that the shooter may have snapped after he was forced to pay $100 to repair a forklift he damaged at work and alleged bullying from his coworkers and long working hours.

Regardless of the motive, Asian American leaders across the country recognize the presence of militarygrade firearms in both events, sparking eerily familiar conversations about the