January 24, 2023
Stop AAPI Hate released the following statement in response to the mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park that have left 18 people dead. News reports at present indicate that the victims are farm workers of Asian and Latino descent.
“There is no way to describe the overwhelming loss of life that has taken place over the past few days, and its impact on the Asian American community, the Latino community, the farmworker community and the communities of Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We are in mourning. Our immediate priorities involve supporting victims and communities through our local coalition members.
After nearly three years of attacks targeting the Asian American community, these shocking incidents have compounded the pain, fear and trauma that so many of us are feeling across California and across the country. We have long dealt with multiple forms of hate and violence, coming from outside, within and among our communities, and the identity of the shooters in both of these recent massacres does not and should not delegitimize or diminish our pain and fear. We don’t know the motivations behind these shootings, and we may never know. But unfettered access to guns turned both of these acts of violence into massacres.
When we talk about the safety and security of AAPI communities, we must start centering the impact of gun violence. As the past week alone has emphasized – with horrific shootings in Fort Pierce, Monterey Park, Baton Rouge, Half Moon Bay, Des Moines, and more – no community in America is immune to gun violence, including ours. We need lawmakers at all levels to pass policies to prevent gun violence and help put a stop to the never-ending horror and fear that we’re facing.”