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Thread: Mass public shootings on the rise, but why?

  1. #46
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    4th of July parade shooting

    There's a vid behind the link too.

    Richmond native shares experience with kung fu teacher helping victims during Highland Park shooting

    Two members of the Highland Park Temple of Kung Fu helped victims during the Fourth of July Parade shooting this weekend

    By Desiree Montilla and Emily Pasquinelli
    Published: Jul. 5, 2022 at 3:36 PM PDT|Updated: 14 hours ago
    RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - This weekend marked the return of Highland Park, Illinois’s annual Independence Day Parade and was the first since the pandemic, but the celebration quickly turned into a horrific scene as a gunman opened fire on the crowd.

    Among the thousands in the crowd, Raymond Goode, a Richmond native, was preparing to walk with his group from the Temple of Kung Fu and do a demonstration in front of the spectators.

    Goode recently joined the school and was with his instructor, Sifu Richard Baron.

    As soon as the Temple of Kung Fu group started walking, they began to hear gunshots ring off in the distance.

    “We hear, you know, pop, pop, pop, in the distance, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I hope that’s fireworks,’” said Baron. “The crowd starts moving backwards; someone is yelling active shooter.”

    Goode described the scene as “chaotic” moments after hearing the shots ring out.

    “This was chaotic cause there’s people running everywhere,” he said. “There’s people who’s looking for their children.”

    As gunfire erupted along the parade route, Goode joined his instructor and another student to lend a helping hand.

    “Being a part of Kung Fu and learning from Sifu, you don’t think. We practice and practice over, over a thousand times for that one moment to step in,” said Goode. “As soon as we heard active shooter, we was already engaging. It wasn’t a thinking kind of thing. When a fellow American is being hurt, you instantly go help.”

    As this group ran towards the scene to help victims, the two men described helping people caught in the crossfire.

    “We immediately came upon a gentleman who had been grazed in the head and had been shot in the back of the shoulder, and we rendered aid,” said Baron.

    ”One of our students took off his shirt and wrapped it around his head so we can keep pressure on the wound,” Goode said. “He was still in shock.”

    The men also encountered a panicked mother looking for her 8-year-old daughter in the crowd. Goode and Baron said that it was nearly impossible to search the area because of the swarm of people running around in an attempt to take cover. The streets became increasingly crowded as more EMS personnel arrived.

    At this point, no one knew for sure if the shooter was still active, but this didn’t stop them from trying to assist people and controlling the crowd.

    “Telling people to take cover, just screaming directives because when something happens, you have to do something,” Goode said.

    This mass shooting rocked a community Baron said is loving and compassionate.

    “This person tried to disrupt America’s birthday. He tried to disrupt our democracy,” he said. “He’s trying to put fear in all our hearts.”

    In the wake of this tragedy, both men hope this mass shooting will encourage people to unite and fight against fear.

    “We feel strongly that there is a whole lot of people trying to scare us all the time, and we can’t let them win,” said Baron

    “Bad people do things, and good people have to stand up,” Goode said. “Everybody loses if we don’t protect our humanity.”

    The two men also offered their sympathy for the families of those who were injured or killed at the parade.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #47
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    Check out our latest feature on KungFuMagazine.com

    Are You Truly Ready? READ Kung Fu Versus an Active Shooter by Jason Brick

    Gene Ching
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  3. #48
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    ****

    Lunar New Year mass shooting in California traumatizes Asian Americans already on edge
    Families who started the night celebrating a major Asian holiday in Monterey Park, California, are now devastated by trauma and grief.
    Dion Lim Opinion contributor

    As we grapple with the tragedy of 10 killed in a mass shooting during Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, California, I encourage the public to see horrific events like these through a different lens.

    Whether this is deemed a hate crime or not, there are families grieving on what is supposed to be a day symbolizing a new, prosperous beginning. No matter who the shooter was, families who started the night celebrating a major Asian holiday are now shattered with trauma and grief.

    This attack is not helping the Asian American community already on edge from hate violence that started during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still continuing. The best we can do is to continue the momentum of sharing these stories and continuing the oftentimes painful discussions so that not just our community, but also those who do not look like us, understand that the virus of hate is still alive in America today.


    Lunar New Year celebration brought thousands to Monterey Park

    Monterey Park, a city of 60,000 east of Los Angeles, is 65% Asian American, 27% Latino and 6% white, according to census data.

    Authorities on Sunday released photos of the male Asian suspect who hit the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Saturday night, killing five men and five women. Ten survivors were rushed to the hospital, some in critical condition. The shooting took place shortly after a Lunar New Year celebration brought thousands of people to the city, where many shops feature signs in English and Chinese.


    People watch police near the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2023, the morning after a gunman killed 10 and injured 10.

    About 20 minutes after the shooting, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said, a male Asian suspect with a firearm walked into another dance hall in the neighboring suburb of Alhambra. Patrons wrestled a gun from a suspect who fled in a van.

    This weekend had marked the first time Monterey Park had held its Lunar New Year celebration since before the pandemic. While the shooting took place away from the city-sponsored event, officials canceled the two-week festival’s second-day events as a precaution.


    'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down'

    Reflecting back on the past several years, being on the forefront reporting on the attacks on Asian Americans and the #stopaapihate movement, I know we have come a long way in raising awareness. But there is an astronomically long way still to go.

    In the Asian culture, it’s commonplace for many, especially those from an older generation, to adhere to the adage of “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.” Meaning, speaking or acting out of turn, such as when tragedy or trauma strikes, is dishonorable and looked down upon.

    However, I am encouraged by the number of youth who buck tradition and understand the importance of sharing their stories, no matter how painful. They’ve seen how a simple interview can make a major impact.


    Just a couple weeks ago, a Chinese woman shared with me a surveillance video of her 78-year-old father being senselessly assaulted and knocked to the ground while walking down the street in broad daylight. While I was relieved and grateful to be trusted with her story, I couldn’t help but feel anxious at the same time.

    Would the public continue to care? Could I get this story approved to bring it to a widespread audience?

    Dion Lim is an anchor/reporter for ABC7/KGO-TV in San Francisco.
    Not to mention that comments from the public such as “it seems like it’s getting better” were becoming more frequent. I’m afraid of frequency fatigue, and that this woman’s father could become “just another victim.”

    Dion Lim is an anchor/reporter for ABC7/KGO-TV in San Francisco and the author of the upcoming book "Not Your Model Minority" (Third State Books). Follow her on Twitter: @DionLimTV
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  4. #49
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    California mourns

    Half Moon Bay shootings: Gunman kills 7 people in the second California massacre in 3 days


    Law enforcement personnel converge on the scene of a shooting Monday in Half Moon Bay.(Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)
    BY SALVADOR HERNANDEZ, SUMMER LIN, SUSANNE RUST, BRITTNY MEJIA
    JAN. 23, 2023 UPDATED 10:57 PM PT

    HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — At least seven people were killed in a pair of related shootings that have rocked the beach-side community of Half Moon Bay, an act of violence that comes just two days after 11 people were killed in another mass shooting in Monterey Park.
    A 67-year-old resident of the community is suspected of opening fire at two rural locations about a mile distant, shooting some of the victims in front of children who lived nearby and had recently been released from school.

    “This kind of shooting is horrific; it’s a tragedy we hear about too often,” San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus said. “For children to witness this is unspeakable.”

    The suspect, believed to be a worker at one of the nearby farms or nurseries, was arrested about two hours after the shootings while sitting in a parked car at a sheriff’s substation.

    The victims are also believed to be workers at nearby farms, officials said.

    Deputies with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office first found four victims shot to death in the 12700 block of San Mateo Road in an unincorporated area of the county just before 2:30 p.m. A fifth victim was also found in the area and taken to Stanford Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to The Times.

    Minutes later, in an area about a mile away, in the 2100 block of Cabrillo Highway, deputies found three more victims dead of apparent gunshot wounds.

    Corpus said the suspect was believed to have driven from one location to the next, shooting the unidentified victims at each site.

    The motive for the shootings is still unknown, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

    The shooting suspect, identified as Chunli Zhao, was spotted sitting in his car at the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office substation in Half Moon Bay at about 4:40 p.m., officials said.

    Video from ABC 7 showed deputies taking a man to the ground in the parking lot. The man was wearing a white cap, vest and red long-sleeve shirt.

    The weapon believed to have been used in the incident, a semiautomatic handgun, was found inside his car.

    “With no past knowledge of this gunman or his motives, we are shook and very eager to gain more information from the authorities and their investigations,” said Aaron Tung, the principal of Concord Farms, in a statement to The Times. Concord Farms operates the mushroom farm on Cabrillo Highway where one of the shootings took place.

    “Our hearts,” Tung added, “are with the victims, their families and the Chinese American community — from Half Moon Bay to Monterey Park.”

    Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga is founder and executive director of the San Mateo County nonprofit Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, which is based in Half Moon Bay. The organization works with farmworkers there. She said the ALAS team, which provides educational, mental health and social services, was on the Mountain Mushroom Farm, near one of the shooting sites, about an hour before the violence occurred. She said there are Spanish- and Mandarin-speaking farmworkers there.

    “Our farmworkers give so much to us,” she said, “and to see this violence happening is just a tragedy.”

    Hernandez-Arriaga was at the family reunification center, set up by the Sheriff’s Office on Main Street in Half Moon Bay, on Monday night, working to help those affected.

    “We are all here waiting to hear together who were the victims,” she said, noting “the impact this is going to have on our lives.”

    “Our little town,” she said, “has always been so safe and so protected.”

    San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller was also at the center Monday night. Mueller said he was a witness to one family finding out that their relative was among those killed. He estimated that, as of 7:30 p.m., there were 30 to 40 people at the center, many seeking counseling.

    California has experienced three mass shootings in less than two weeks: the killing of six people at a home in Goshen, Calif., the Monterey Park massacre at a dance studio, and now the Half Moon Bay incident.

    “This is tragic on multiple levels,” said San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa. Noting that the victims were Chinese farmworkers, he said it was “horrific that it’s a Lunar New Year [and] you have people massacred both in Monterey Park and in the Half Moon Bay area. We should be celebrating, but instead we find ourselves — because of gun violence — burying innocent people.”

    “Gun violence in this country has hit unacceptable levels,” said San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David Pine, acknowledging the tragedy that occurred in Monterey Park on Saturday. “Our hearts are broken.”

    The Half Moon Bay shootings rank among the deadliest in the San Francisco Bay Area, topped in recent memory only by the 2021 incident when a worker for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority shot and killed nine co-workers at a light rail yard.

    Monday’s killings brought condemnation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said on Twitter: “Tragedy upon tragedy.” President Biden said through his spokesperson that federal authorities were offering assistance.

    Assemblyman Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) noted the scale of violence to hit California: “Two hours ago I joined my colleagues on the Capitol steps for a vigil for the victims of the shooting in Monterey Park,” he said on Twitter. “Before we’ve even had a chance to mourn them, there is yet another mass shooting — this time in Half Moon Bay. In my district.”
    Half Moon Bay is across the bay and the peninsula from Tiger Claw HQ.
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  5. #50
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    The Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association in Monterey Park

    More on Monterey Park

    A kung fu school had a safe space at a revered dance studio. Then came the mass shooting

    Kevin Leung, head instructor, leads a practice of the Kong’s Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association at Garvey Ranch Park playground in Monterey Park on Sunday, February 5, 2023. For years, Kong’s Siu Lum Pai had weekly lessons for interested kids and adults at the Star Dance Ballroom Studio. Head instructor Kevin Leung, who knew many of the victims, hopes to provide a free space for the community to heal, practice the kung fu arts, and not have to think about what just happened at their beloved studio. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
    By ALLYSON VERGARA | avergara@scng.com |
    PUBLISHED: February 7, 2023 at 1:12 p.m. | UPDATED: February 8, 2023 at 6:55 a.m.

    A major tragedy in their hometown won’t stop these martial arts students in Monterey Park from practicing kata, or their forms.

    With every kick, swing and punch, these students at the Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association are learning forms of self-defense, rooted in traditional Chinese martial arts. In the school, students are taught the values of respect, tranquility under pressure, purpose through movement.

    “It teaches confidence, humility, courage, focus, discipline,” said Eileen Greenberg, an assistant instructor with the traditional Chinese martial arts school. “We’re not training bullies, but to step up if you see someone who needs help, and defend your community.”


    Kevin Leung, head instructor, leads a practice of the Kong’s Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association at Garvey Ranch Park playground in Monterey Park on Sunday, February 5, 2023. For years, Kong’s Siu Lum Pai had weekly lessons for interested kids and adults at the Star Dance Ballroom Studio. Head instructor Kevin Leung, who knew many of the victims, hopes to provide a free space for the community to heal, practice the kung fu arts, and not have to think about what just happened at their beloved studio. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

    Each week for over eight years, kids and adults were practicing kung fu and lion dancing at the Star Dance Ballroom Studio in Monterey Park. In between the studio’s regular ballroom lessons, music classes and social dances, students of all ages came for Chinese martial arts lessons and lion dance rehearsals, led by instructors at the Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu school.

    In the days leading up to Chinese Lunar New Year, students were at the Monterey Park ballroom studio practicing for an upcoming lion dance performance. But later that weekend, on Jan. 21, what was once a safe, beloved space for the community became the site of a shooting massacre, where a gunman killed 11 dancers — all Asian seniors — inside.

    Head instructor Kevin Leung said, in the days following, he felt “numb, like a zombie.” He had known several of the victims, including Star Dance studio owner Ming Wei Ma.


    Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association students perform a Chinese lion dance at a Lunar New Year event at Westfield Century City Mall on Saturday, Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Leung)
    “When we first started the kung fu school here (in 2015), we called around different places. Mr. Ma was the one who picked up the phone and said he would take us in; didn’t charge us a lot of money,” recalled Leung, a nurse and Monterey Park resident. “From then, Mr. Ma saw us grow from like five kids, to now a huge school with student competitors. He was always smiling, always very proud of us.”

    In the aftermath of the shooting, Leung knew the younger students needed to keep practicing, to feel some sense of “normalcy” and a familiar routine after the tragedy. So he insisted on continuing the martial arts lessons and lion dance performances free of charge to the kids.

    Leung has thought about renting a new, more permanent practice space, but would “definitely” go back to Star Dance, if possible.

    Star Dance owner Maria Liang has said that she “doesn’t know what to do” when it comes to reopening the studio, but many of its instructors and patrons “want to continue to dance.”

    “I’d like to continue to provide them the facility but right now …I’m still shocked. I cannot tell you what I plan to do,” Liang said last week.

    While the future of the studio remains unclear, students practice their forms each week in an open field at nearby Garvey Ranch Park, where lessons took place during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The adults and parents are invited to join in, with many practicing at home or learning the movements on their own.

    Leung realizes that continuing on is what a “sifu” — which translates to kung fu master in Cantonese — would do.

    “At the first practice back, I wanted to bring up the shooting to the kids, but not really. I wanted that to be a conversation that they can have with their parents, but told them they can also come talk to me about what happened and decompress,” he said. “That’s one of the big things a sifu provides to this community; a kind of outlet where people can air out their problems.”

    Getting back into practices and performances quickly was “a way for us to reclaim our Lunar New Year celebration,” said Leung, whose three children are also enrolled in the school. “We felt that we had this festive time and occasion taken away from us because of this tragedy. This was about being able to push forward, about triumph over tragedy.”

    Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu was started in 1963 by grandmaster Buck Sam Kong, a leader in the global martial arts community. Over the years, Kong’s kung fu schools have since grown in California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Mexico and Germany — with students of all ages competing, learning self-defense, and performing cultural lion dances.


    Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association students perform a Chinese lion dance at a Lunar New Year event at Westfield Century City Mall on Saturday, Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Leung)
    “That’s what the lion dances symbolize,” Leung said. “To gather and celebrate, but to mourn and remember at the same time.”

    A core belief in Chinese martial arts is having “chi,” a life force energy that helps bring one back into balance. The concept is not about destruction or beating someone up, but finding one’s center, calming the spirit, Leung said. That’s where the technique comes from — and it can be empowering, even after tragedy.

    Leung reflected on the waves of anti-Asian hate crimes targeting the community in the wake of the pandemic.

    “A lot of people felt helpless, like why is this happening to us. It was like that sense of control is just gone. And with this (shooting), we didn’t see this coming,” he said. “So being back out again feels like we’re still the masters of our own destiny, like we still have control over our lives. Even after tragedy, of course we need to mourn the dead, but at the same time not live in fear.”

    Monterey Park resident Lawrence Fang enrolled his daughter, 7-year-old Kayla, in lessons with Siu Lum Pai a year ago, wanting her to connect with her Chinese roots and make new friends. Fang said it was hard to explain the events of the shooting with her, and he was initially afraid to bring her back in.

    “But we’re not going to change our activities out of fear. It’s important to keep doing what we’re doing,” Fang said. Even though we’re scared — it could have been us. It could happen to anybody, and now it’s (happened) right in our backyard.”


    Kevin Leung, head instructor, leads a practice of the Kong’s Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association at Garvey Ranch Park playground in Monterey Park on Sunday, February 5, 2023. For years, Kong’s Siu Lum Pai had weekly lessons for interested kids and adults at the Star Dance Ballroom Studio. Head instructor Kevin Leung, who knew many of the victims, hopes to provide a free space for the community to heal, practice the kung fu arts, and not have to think about what just happened at their beloved studio. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)

    Instructor Mia Ferraro said that the teachers try not to talk much about the shooting with the younger students, “because they know what happened, and we have to move forward.”

    Studio or no studio, Siu Lum Pai students will continue to practice, compete and perform for their community. It’s their way of healing and fighting forward, instructors say.

    “Something bad can happen at a place, but you can’t let that take over its spirit. (Star Dance) is not defined by what happened,” Ferraro said. “We can’t let a senseless tragedy take away from everything our students have invested, in a place that’s good. Everywhere we dig our heels into is our home.”

    Staff reporter Linh Tat contributed to this story.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  6. #51
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    I work in event medicine so this hits me hard.

    Beyond Wonderland Shooting Suspect Told Police He Took ‘Shrooms’
    "This is the end," James M. Kelly allegedly told his girlfriend before opening fire at the Washington EDM festival, leaving two dead and three injured
    BY LARISHA PAUL, TOMÁS MIER
    JUNE 21, 2023


    GEORGE, WASHINGTON - JUNE 11: The Highwomen perform at Gorge Amphitheatre on June 11, 2023 in George, Washington. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)
    Gorge Amphitheatre George, Washington, June 11, 2023 GARY MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

    THE MAN ACCUSED of killing two people at Beyond Wonderland in Washington over the weekend told police that he was hallucinating on mushrooms and believed the world was going to end, according to court documents obtained by Oregon Live and King5.

    James M. Kelly — a 26-year-old active-duty member of the U.S. Army — allegedly opened fire at the Beyond Wonderland EDM festival on Saturday evening, leaving two individuals dead and three others injured. Among those injured was his girlfriend Lily Luksich, 20, whom Kelly told “this is the end” before the alleged shooting spree, King5 reported.

    According to the court docs, Kelly returned to the campgrounds from the festival proper, where he allegedly grabbed his handgun from his pickup truck, loaded it, and fired at Brandy Escamilla and Josilyn Ruiz, the engaged couple that died on the scene. He also shot at 31-year-old August Morningstar, who suffered a bullet wound in his shoulder and is now in stable condition after receiving treatment at a hospital.

    According to the document, Kelly attempted to fire at a Grant County Sheriff’s Office drone, and later shot at his girlfriend in the foot and upper leg. “At multiple times, Luksich laid down on the ground and Kelly sat either on her, or sat next to her and leaned over her,” according to court records obtained by Oregon Live. “At one point Luksich began to walk north away from Kelly, turned around with her hands raised in the air, and walked back to Kelly.”

    Kelly is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, and one count of first-degree assault domestic violence.

    The update regarding his mental state comes just hours after the North Central Washington Special Investigations Unit identified the victims and shooter. According to a press release from the department, he was booked into Grant County Jail.

    Another victim, 61-year-old Lori Williams, was treated on-site for injuries sustained in a Polaris Ranger UTV when she “was struck by a single bullet that penetrated the windshield and struck her in the right side of her face shattering her glasses and causing bruising and laceration.”

    The incident occurred at approximately 8:23 p.m. PT in the campground area outside of the Gorge venue in Grant County, Washington. During the shooting, the event itself was occurring in the amphitheater, which had a walking distance of about 20-30 minutes away from the camping grounds where festival-goers had pitched tents and parked their cars for the weekend festival.

    According to Grant County Sheriff’s Office public information officer Kyle Foreman, the suspect fired “randomly into the crowd” in the campground area and continued to do so until he was “eventually taken into custody” in a secondary location from where it all began.

    “Officers located Kelly and Luksich in an agricultural field adjacent to the campground. Moses Lake Police Department Detective Edgar Salazar fired his duty weapon at Kelly striking him one time,” the statement continued. “Responding officers then quickly moved in and Kelly was taken into custody and received emergency medical aid from the officers.”

    The second day of the festival was canceled following the incident. The shooter’s motive remains unclear. His next hearing is set for July 5.

    This story was updated at 7:10 p.m. ET to include new information about the suspect’s alleged use of hallucinogens, along with additional details of the incident.
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  7. #52
    Greetings,

    Mushrooms and VIOLENCE??

    BULLSHYTE!!

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29807492/

    mickey

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