Monterey Park marks three years since deadly mass shooting
Monterey Park Wednesday marked three years since the mass shooting at a dance studio that left 11 people dead and nine others injured.
A day of remembrance was declared, and a new memorial will be proposed in honor of the victims killed at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in 2023.
The new memorial would be located off South Metro Drive and Orange Avenue at a public garden.
Shally Ung, a survivor of the attack, recalled the moments when the 72-year-old gunman opened fire inside the ballroom. Her dance partner, Andy, was among those killed.
"He was knocked out. I said 'Andy Andy!' He didn't respond to me at all," Ung said.
Ung and other survivors have spent the last three years working through the trauma by attending group therapy and seeing psychologists.
"Chinese people don't like to go to therapy. They think it's just mental," she said. "But for me, I feel that if I don't go I cannot step one foot forward."
Her husband, Francois Ung, said the support has made a difference.
"She's happy now. I know I can see a big change," he said.
Despite their grief, they're still dancing.
"Dancing is a joy," Ung said.
Los Angeles County declared Wednesday the Monterey Park Tragedy Day of Remembrance.
L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis has spent the last three years pushing for more mental health resources for Asian American and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander communities.
"Coming up with an idea of how to work with the Chinese community, the Mandarin community, all the different cultures, Vietnamese community, that were impacted," she said.
Survivors and their families say they will never forget their loved ones but they're striving to move forward.
"If you live in the past, you always get sad," Ung said. "We don't want to be sad. We have to be happy. We know the past is sad, but we have to remember them."
