Half Moon Bay mass shooting victims remembered at S.F. Chinatown vigil
SAN FRANCISCO -- A somber vigil was held in Chinatown Thursday night for the victims of recent mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park. Community members came together and vowed to create positive change in their community.
The vigil was an opportunity for the community to grieve together and remember the 18 lives lost in the shootings.
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Maria Tang, a resident of San Francisco, came to the vigil with her 6-year-old daughter. She said the recent shootings have been difficult to process.
"It's been really hard this time around because we've seen it so many times in the last couple years and it took me a long time to process this one too where I felt numb for a really long time," Tang said.
Josephine Zhao shared her personal experience of loss and the difficulties of seeking emotional support in the Asian American community.
"One day my world collapsed. I lost the dearest thing of my heart," Zhao said. "It eats us alive within. My heart has been so numb because we keep putting layers and layers of scar over it until a point where I can't feel anything anymore but I'm dying inside."
People at the vigil said that it is time to break down barriers and improve access to resources for emotional support.
"If we avoid it, if we hide it, nothing is going to change," Zhao said.
As the community grieves and begins the healing process, there is hope for the future.
"I feel like she's going to be the hope and the change and part of the process. The hope is just peace and hope that these violences end," Tang said.
