Updated January 24, 2023

Just days after the tragedy in Monterey Park, we are shocked and extremely saddened to learn of the mass shooting in Half Moon Bay. We mourn the loss and injury of eight victims and share our condolences with their loved ones. Our hearts break as we grieve these unspeakable losses. Our communities, who have endured so much in the last four days, deserve to feel safe and supported.

This Lunar New Year, a time meant for celebration and joy, our communities mourn the deaths and injury of the twenty victims of the January 21st mass shooting in Monterey Park, California. We are shocked and devastated by this horrific loss. Our hearts are with the loved ones of the victims and with our AAPI communities as we grieve and process this tragedy.

There is an undeniable connection between mass shootings and femicide, some of the most extreme forms of gender-based violence (GBV). In the U.S., 60% of mass shooting events were either domestic violence attacks or perpetrated by those with a history of domestic violence. In relationships where there has been a history of intimate partner violence, homicide is the ultimate manifestation of power and control of one partner over the other. Identifying the correlation between guns, mass violence, and GBV brings us closer to addressing these problems at their roots.

As our communities work toward healing, we must continue to invest in AAPI organizations engaged in culturally- and linguistically-relevant prevention and intervention efforts. To effectively support AAPI individuals, understanding the intersections and differences of cultures, providing language accessible services/resources, and options for culturally-sensitive mental health support are essential. Care without deeply comprehending context cannot fully serve the needs of our communities.

To find resources and services in your area, please use our Directory of GBV Agencies Serving the AAPI Community and our AAPI In-Language Resource Library. For AAPI community members in Southern California, the Center for the Pacific Asian Family, Korean American Family Services and Little Tokyo Service Center provide local culturally-specific and in-language services. If you know of someone who may need support or someone to talk to, the 988 Lifeline uses Language Line Solutions to provide interpretations in 250+ languages. To contact us, please visit api-gbv.org or email info@api-gbv.org.

Read our Gun Violence and Domestic Violence (DV) in the AAPI Community fact sheet here.