In the aftermath of California shootings, prayers and calls for national gun control laws

WHITE HOUSE

Vice President Kamala Harris lays flowers at a memorial for the 11 Monterey Park shooting victims.

The first Asian American Vice President of the US, Kamala Harris, visits Monterey Park to pay respect to the victims killed at a Lunar New Year celebration. 

"I am here and have arrived in Monterey Park today to express our deepest condolences and sorrow for the violent and tragic and useless thing that happened here," said Harris, a native Californian. 

"You know, we’ve already had, in our country, this year already — we’re in January — it’s estimated over 40 mass killings already," Harris said in a statement."

As the Asian American community is struggles through these tragedies with candlelight vigils and makeshift memorials, Harris took the opportunity to advocate for action after the mourning and prayers.

"California has been courageous as a leader on the issue of smart gun safety laws. But we also need Congress to act, because, truly, if we are to have a uniform approach that is a statement of where we, as a nation, I think — where we are on these issues, then Congress must act so that we can get at least one step closer to what is right and what is reasonable, understanding that to do so is to fully support the Second Amendment, but to understand we need reasonable gun safety laws in our country," said Harris.

Meanwhile, authorities released the names of the dance hall victims, all Asian American elderly. They had gathered at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio to celebrate the start of Lunar New Year festivities. The female victims were named as Xiujuan Yu, 57; Hongying Jian, 62; Lilan Li, 63; Mymy Nhan, 65; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; and Diana Man Ling Tom, 70. The male victims were identified as Wen-Tau Yu, 64; Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Ming Wei Ma, 72; Yu-Lun Kao, 72; and Chia Ling Yau, 76.

CHINESE FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Candles were lit in a San Francisco Chinatown memorial for the shooting victims.

All of the victims were of Chinese descent, two Taiwanese and one, Alvero, was a Filipino American.

The Chinese Consulate in San Francisco confirmed that five of the victims in Half Moon Bay shooting, which occurred Monday, are Chinese as well as the alleged shooter, Chunli Zhao, who surrendered to authorities hours after the shootings.

The Half Moon Bay victims have been identified as Yetao Bing, 43, Qizhong Cheng, 66, Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Aixiang Zhang, 74, Jingzhi Lu, 64, and Zhishen Liu, 73, according to the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office.

In an interview conducted in Mandarin, Zhao told NBC Bay Area’s Janelle Wang that he was bullied at work and had issues with the victims. He has been in the US for 11 years and has a green card.

Despite having some of the nation's toughest gun control laws which has resulted in a lower rate of gun death than the national average, it’s been impossible to insulate it from tragedies like the ones seen this week. California's Gov. Gavin Newsom have been looking to Washington to place protections in areas that state policies simply can’t cover.

“We can figure this out — we can,” said Newsom said in an emotional statement after visiting Half Moon Bay. “We know what to do. It’s not complicated. We do. And we don’t have to do this again and again and again.”

However, California laws can't keep the transport of weapons across state lines. “We can’t do this alone,” Newsom said. “And with all due respect, we feel like we are.”

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