News Wrap: Monterey Park shooting ‘tore a hole’ through Asian community

Read the Full Transcript

• John Yang:

  Good evening. I'm John Yang. The predominantly Asian American community of Monterey Park, California, east of Los Angeles, awoke to tragedy this lunar New Year.

  Saturday night, a gunman massacred at least 10 people in a ballroom dance studio. At least ten others were taken to hospitals, some in critical condition. It's the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since last May's Uvalde, Texas, school massacre.

  Today, authorities released photos of the man believed to be the gunman, but at this hour, he remains at large, and many questions remain unanswered, including a motive.

  An all too familiar scene, victims loaded into ambulances, police tapes stretched across darkened streets, and as light dawned, FBI agents working the scene. This is the 33rd mass shooting in the United States this year. A year that's not even a month old.

• Gabriel, Local Resident:

  It's very surprising, shocking to hear that something like this went on in not only a small city, but my city that you never think would happen to your town or something like that.

• John Yang:

  Police say a gunman opened fire in the dance studio as lunar New Year celebrations were wrapping up nearby. And authorities say a second incident, that a ballroom in nearby Alhambra may be connected.

• Robert Luna, Sheriff, Los Angeles County:

  We are working diligently with the Alhambra Police Department. We believe that there's an incident that may be related. We're not quite there yet, but it's definitely on our radar.

• John Yang:

  About two thirds of Monterey Park's population is of Asian descent, and this time of year is significant for them.

  Rep. Judy Chu, (D) California: It is horrible that such a thing could occur at a time of celebration for so many in the AAPI community and in the Asian community worldwide. This is a time to be with family, to celebrate. And yet this tore a whole through all of our hearts.

• John Yang:

  With many questions still unanswered, another community in America mourns.

  In Atlanta, what began as a peaceful protest last night mourning the fatal police shooting of a young activist last week ended in violence. Mass demonstrators smashed windows, vandalized buildings with anti-police graffiti and set a police car on fire. Several people were arrested. The environmental activist, a 26-year-old who went by the name Tortuguita, was shot and killed by police on Wednesday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the activist had shot and wounded a state trooper.

  Armed extremists stormed a regional government office in the Somali capital of Mogadishu today, killing five people. The al Qaeda affiliated terror group Al Shabaab set off a suicide blast at the outside gates to gain access to the well protected compound and exchanged fire with police security forces. Somali authorities report the area is now clear.

  In a moment of resilience on this NFL Sunday, just three weeks after suffering cardiac arrest during the last meeting between the two teams, Buffalo Bill safety Damar Hamlin went today's home playoff game with the Cincinnati Bengals.

  Still to come on "PBS News Weekend," the state of abortion rights in America on the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision. And some good news about the ozone layer.