The victims of the Monterey Park mass shooting
The men and women killed during the tragic Monterey Park mass shooting left behind sons, daughters and friends, all of whom continue to grieve their loved ones.
Ming Wei Ma, 72
Ming Wei Ma was the owner of the Star Dance Studio, where the Monterey Park mass shooting occurred.
Family and friends described Ma as a man of kindness and liveliness and "built a community that dearly loved and respected him," according to a GoFundMe organized by Courtney Thong.
Kristina Hayes met Ma a few years ago when she started organizing tango socials in his ballroom.
"We always hired Ma for all of our events because he knew how to do everything," Hayes said. "And I imagine that night he was just running around doing what he always does, everything."
According to witnesses, Ma died in a final act of selflessness.
"According to the chat, he was the first to rush the shooter," said the victim's friend Eric Chen. "He was just caring, and other first, people first kind of person."
Mymy Nhan, 65
Fonda Quan, 32, said her dear aunt was doing what she loved most — ballroom dance — when she was killed in the Monterey Park mass shooting Saturday night.
"Mymy is really kind-hearted person," said Quan. "Really kind, genuine and friendly. She was really into the gowns that she would wear every weekend and she looks forward to every Saturday."
Quan said her aunt left early that night to prepare for the Lunar New Year and was pulling out of the parking lot with her dance partner when she was murdered.
"She had started backing up and stopped because she saw a person walking by and that was the person that shot her," said Quan. "Then he proceeded to enter the ballroom and start shooting everybody else."
Nhan's family said she spent years going to the Star Dance Studio.
"It's what she loved to do," her family said in a statement. "But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance."
Valentino Alvero, 68
Loved ones described Valentino Marcos Alvero as a loving man, who deeply cared about his friends and family.
"He loved people and hearing about their lives and in return, he shared his own stories with so much gusto and enthusiasm that you couldn't help but listen and laugh along with him," his family said in a statement.
His family said Alvero loved ballroom dancing.
"We hope that he danced to his heart's content until the very end and hope that he is now dancing in heaven," they said in a statement.
After learning about their loved one's death, the family displayed their frustration that Alvero, a devout Catholic, never got the opportunity to receive his last rites.
"It is also a great travesty that he did not receive last rites," they said in a statement. "He was a devout Catholic and our family would like to request all priests and Catholics to pray for him by name, Valentino Marcos Alvero."
Alvero's family also extended their prayers to all the victims of mass shootings and hoped for an end to massacres like this.
"Pray for Valentino by name, and for the souls of all victims of mass shootings and for an end to mass shootings in our nation and the world," they said.
Xiujuan Yu, 57
Xiujuan Yu came to the United States with the hopes of a brighter future.
"She and her family have done their best to make a life for themselves here, leaving their past lives behind in China to craft a new future for their little family," her niece Kathleen Fong said in her GoFundMe. "My aunt was in the middle of crafting that future with her husband and children, and now to have that journey suddenly interrupted is heartbreaking."
According to Fong, Yu and her husband worked hard to afford their children the brighter future that they envision.
"My aunt and uncle have worked tirelessly to support their daughters' livelihood and education, working odd jobs and taking on labor-intensive occupations to make ends meet," Fong said.
But what was supposed to be a fun night out, turned into a life-altering event that rocked the entire family.
"Personally, this still doesn't feel real," Fong said. "It happened all too quickly — we never even got a chance to properly say goodbye."
Yu "Andy" Kao, 72
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California has organized a fund for the victims of the shooting.
It can be found here.
Diana Tom, 70
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California has organized a fund for the victims of the shooting.
It can be found here.
Chia Yau, 76
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California has organized a fund for the victims of the shooting.
It can be found here.