WEBVTT	#Elemental Media Engine(TM) 2.17.1.0

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- [Speaker] On January 21st, a gunman

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later identified as
72-year-old Huu Can Tran,

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showed up in Monterey Park on
the eve of the Lunar New Year

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and devastated the community.

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Many people lost their
families that night,

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their lives forever changed.

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Here are their stories.

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Ming Wei Ma was a beloved manager

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at Star Ballroom Dance Studio.

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He is remembered by family and friends

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as a pillar in Monterey Park

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and a source of humor and compassion.

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Affectionately known as Mr. Ma -

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Ma had emigrated from China,

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where he had been part of
a well-known dance group.

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Ma was a social connector whose
death has sent shock waves

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through the broader San Gabriel
Valley Chinese community.

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According to his family's GoFundMe page,

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Ma helped build a
community that dearly loved

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and respected him for his kindness.

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Mymy Nhan grew up in Ho Chi Minh City

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and immigrated to Rosemead
with her family in the 1980s.

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Nhan's family and friends

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remembered her infectious
cheerfulness, her kind heart

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and her ability to bring
people together to dance.

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Fonda Quan, Nhan's niece,

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recalls her aunt's eagerness to celebrate

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the wins of those in her
wide circle of friends.

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One of Nhan's longtime instructors

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said her presence breathed life

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into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio

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and Lai Lai Ballroom
and Studio In Alhambra.

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Her family describes Diana
Tom as a hard-working mother

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wife, and grandmother who loved to dance.

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Loved ones say she was someone

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who always went out of
her way to give to others.

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Her family asks that the
people honor her legacy

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by donating to the Monterey Park

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Lunar New Year Victims Fund.

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Xiujuan Yu immigrated to
the United States from China

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in the early 2010s and
hoped to create a new start

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with her husband and three children.

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Yu and her husband worked odd
jobs in labor-intensive fields

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to provide for their family.

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Yu knew that her father
liked reading the newspaper

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and sometimes had trouble walking,

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so she would buy him a
paper and drop it off

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so he wouldn't have to leave home.

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Yu's niece described her
as diligent and hardworking

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and that she often put
others before herself.

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She leaves behind a husband
and three children -

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two of whom are pursuing
degrees in sports medicine

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and kinesiology at California
State universities.

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Family members say Valentino
Alvero was a loving father,

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a dedicated son and
brother, and a grandfather

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who loved his three nieces and nephews

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like his own children.

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He loved people and
hearing about their lives

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and, in return, he shared his own stories

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with so much gusto and enthusiasm

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that you couldn't help but
listen and laugh along with him.

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Alvero's family said he
loved ballroom dancing

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and was the life of any party.

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According to the Philippine
Consulate General

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in Los Angeles,

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Alvero was Filipino-American
and a devout Catholic.

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Yu Lun Kao, who also went by Andy Kao,

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immigrated to the United
States with his brother

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about 20 years ago from Taiwan.

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Kao was at Star Studio with Shally,

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his dance partner of 15 years,

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when the shooting began.

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- And started, then we see the sound

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(Shally imitates explosions)

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I thought it's a Chinese,
like Chinese firework.

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You understand? Every year they do that.

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And after that you realize

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it's no, it's wrong. It's not.

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And then the gun was shooting...

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like nonstop, like that.

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That's why I pull my partner.

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Please, we go to hide under the table

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and after the suspect, no
more, I think no more shooting.

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He get out.

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At that time, I wake
up to call my partner.

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Wake up, wake up, and he was there.

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Don't respond at the time.

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- [Speaker] According to
Shally's husband, Francois,

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Kao protected Shally by
taking the bullet for her.

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Kao's GoFundMe page described
him as a free spirit

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who made people laugh, and loved to dance

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even if it was only
him on the dance floor.

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Kao's family remembers him

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as a warm-hearted, happy and kind man.

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Chia Ling Yau, who also went by Charlie,

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was described by family as a caring father

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uncle, brother and friend.

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Yau lived life to its fullest.

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His family said he took every opportunity

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to cultivate his love of
music, dance and travel.

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He often expressed gratitude for life

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and reflected upon the lessons he learned.

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He treasured his friendships,

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and enjoyed spending time
with the people he loved.

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According to the Taipei
officials in Los Angeles,

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Yau was a dual Taiwanese
and American citizen.

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Hongying Jian was known
by her neighbors as Nancy

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and liked to play volleyball.

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Jian was from Sichuan province,

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and her husband was from Shanghai.

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She has a mother in her
90s who lives in China.

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Jian liked to sing, go out
dancing, and play piano,

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offering food and gifts to her neighbors.

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Wen Tau Yu was originally from Taiwan,

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and described by family
as a private person.

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One of Yu's son told the New York Times

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that he recently started
school to become a pharmacist.

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He said that Yu was close to his family

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having just celebrated the
Lunar New Year together

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hours before the shooting.

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Muoi Dai Ung was a refugee from Vietnam

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and her family said she found a strong

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and welcoming community in Monterey Park.

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It took decades before she could immigrate

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to the United States to
join other family members

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who had fled Vietnam
in the 1970s and '80s.

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In a statement, Ung's family said

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she loved to dance, eat
and gamble and sometimes

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she even tried to do all
three at the same time.

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While Ung didn't live in Monterey Park,

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her family says she found
a deep sense of kinship

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in the city where the heart

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of the AAPI community beat strongest.

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Min Yi remembers her mother, Lilan Li,

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as a grandmother who was a
pillar of strength and optimism.

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She said her mother was never knocked down

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by life's many twists and
turns, but was tragically taken

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by the untimely fate
of wicked gun violence.

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According to a family statement,

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Li is survived by her daughter

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her two sisters, a brother
and two grandchildren.