For Release: Sunday, January 22, 2023
Washington, DC — Last night in Monterey Park, CA, a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance studio during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration which according to news reports left 10 dead and 10 injured. The Los Angeles Times cites witnesses who stated that the shooter was armed with a semiautomatic rifle and reloaded the weapon as he fired on the victims. Following the mass shooting, Violence Policy Center Executive Director Josh Sugarmann issued the following statement:
“Yet another public gun massacre has turned an event of joy and community into a horrific landscape of death and injury. As a nation we should be able to go out and join in public celebrations with our friends and neighbors without fear of being the next victim in America’s grotesque mass shooting lottery. This carnage continues unabated, yet the gun industry marches on — designing, manufacturing, and marketing increasingly lethal weapons. America is being held hostage by the firearms industry and until gunmakers are held fully accountable for the direct role they play in these massacres, communities across the nation will continue to live in fear of the next horrendous attack.”
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The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter and Facebook.
