Ming Wei Ma was the owner of the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, who heroically rushed the Monterey Park mass shooter, a GoFundMe page to help his family reads. Mymy Nhan was a woman who went to the dance studio most weekends for years, according to a family statement. Both were remembered for their kindness.
They are the first two victims named in the Monterey Park mass shooting.
Eleven people died when the Los Angeles County Sheriff says Huu Can Tran opened fire inside the dance hall on Saturday, January 21, 2023, in Monterey Park, California. Ten additional people were injured, according to the sheriff.
The Los Angeles County Coroner has released the names and ages of the 11 people killed in Saturday night’s mass shooting in Monterey Park
Mymy Nhan
Lilan Li
Xiujuan Yu
Valentino Alvero
Ming Wei Ma
Diana Tom
Nancy Liu
Chia Yau
Yu Kao
Hong Jian
Muoi Ung
t.co/Xmjsh8i0xi
Heavy is posting a tribute to each deceased victim as they are named.
Brandon Tsay and another person disarmed the shooter when he entered a second dance hall in nearby Alhambra after the first shooting, according to an interview Tsay gave to ABC News.
Sheriff Robert Luna said in the news conference that Tran, 72, then took his own life inside a white cargo van. The sheriff says the motive is not yet clear.
Here are the victims who have been named so far:
Mymy Nhan, 65
Tiffany Liou, a journalist with WFAA-TV, wrote on Facebook, “Mymy Nhan was the first person shot and killed during the #MontereyPark mass shooting. I’ve covered a lot of tragedies, and never imagined one would hit so close to home.”
According to Liou, “Mymy was my husband’s aunt. She treated her nieces and nephews like her own children. Her kindness is what’s needed in this world. My husband’s family is hurting beyond measure.”
She released a statement on behalf of the family.
It’s still sinking in what happened to Mymy.
She spent so many years going to the dance studio in Monterey on the weekends. It’s what she loved to do. But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance.
We are starting the Lunar New Year broken. We never imagined her life would end so suddenly. Mymy was 65 years old. If you knew her, you knew her warm smile and kindness was contagious. She was a loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate the support of our neighbors and community.
It was signed, the Nhan and Quan family.
Ming Wei Ma
GoFundMeMing Wei Ma
The victim’s friend Eric Chen told CBS News that he learned Ma “was the first to rush the shooter,” adding, “He was just caring, and other first, people first kind of person.”
Fox 11 described Ma as a “beloved dance instructor” who had rushed the gunman.
“He was an extremely respected, very beloved, very caring teacher, instructor, extremely kind human being, and he’s very much missed by everyone in the Star Dance community,” Chen told Fox 11.
A GoFundMe page was created to help Ma’s family. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Ming Wei Ma, father of Ray Ma and Mary Ma,” it reads. “He was one of the ten people killed in the January 21, 2023 shooting in Monterey Park. He was the owner of Star Dance Studio and built a community that dearly loved and respected him for his kindness and liveliness.”
Lilan Li, 63
According to ABC News, Li was identified as one of the 11 victims.
Diana Tom, 70
We are learning more about the 11 people killed in the Monterey Park mass shooting during a Lunar New Year celebration.
One of them was Diana Tom.
Tom was a former pharmacy technician who “always went out of her way to give to others,” according to the San Bernardino Sun.
“Diana was a hard-working mother, wife and grandmother who loved to dance,” read the statement, according to The Sun.
Xiujuan Yu, 57
A GoFundMe page set up to help Yu’s family gives some biographical details for her. It reads:
On Saturday night, January 21, 2023, my aunt Xiujuan Yu fell victim to a mass shooting at the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California. What was meant to be a night out celebrating the Lunar New Year with friends ended up being a devastating and life-changing event for my family.
After days of uncertainty, anxiety, and waiting in worry, we received the news that my aunt was indeed among the deceased at the incident. This sudden tragedy has struck my family, and despite our best attempts to mourn for her, we graciously ask the community for help in raising funds for her funeral at this time.
Having immigrated to the United States in the early 2010s, she and her family have done their best to make a life for themselves here, leaving their past lives behind in China to craft a new future for their little family. My aunt was in the middle of crafting that future with her husband and children, and now to have that journey suddenly interrupted is heartbreaking. She will never be able to witness what she dreamed of for all these years.
Among her three children, my two twin cousins are currently attending California State Universities pursuing majors in Sports Medicine and Kinesiology. My aunt and uncle have worked tirelessly to support their daughters’ livelihood and education, working odd jobs and taking on labor-intensive occupations to make ends meet. The family has just been able to get by with the support of both parents, but now with one of them no longer in the picture and the steep cost of unanticipated funeral services awaiting them, we have deemed it necessary to reach out to the community for assistance.
Valentino Alvero
In a statement, the family of Valentino Alvero said that overnight, they became “unwilling members of a community who has to mourn the loss of their loved ones due to gun violence, leaving them frustrated and stuck with this vicious cycle.” t.co/nxbTEOfiFy | @onenewsph
“In a statement, the family of Valentino Alvero said that overnight, they became “unwilling members of a community who has to mourn the loss of their loved ones due to gun violence, leaving them frustrated and stuck with this vicious cycle,'” the Philippine Star tweeted.
His daughter created a GoFundMe page in his memory. It reads, “My dad, Valentino Marcos Alvero, was a victim of the Monterey Park Star Ballroom shooting on January 21st and we want to honor his memory the way he would want, with a big funeral Mass and party. Your support is so appreciated! Thank you!”
Yu-Lun Kao
A woman named Amy is overcome with grief as she says a prayer for her friend Yu Kao and others who were killed late sat at the Star Ballroom Dance studio in Monterey Park. #MontereyPark #gunviolence #massshootings #California
Muoi Ung
Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo reading the names of the victims tonight at a vigil outside of Monterey Park City Hall.
Hongying Jian
Las víctimas identificadas en el tiroteo de Monterey Park son Ming Wei Ma, Mymy Nhan, Valentino Alvero, Diana Tom, Lilian, Xiuhuan Yu, Muoi Ung, Hong Jian, Yu Kao, Chía Yau y Wen Yu.
Toda la información. ➡️ t.co/vzdWgVLPsp
Chia Yau
The release revealed that the youngest person slain was 57-year-old Xiujuan Yu. The other victims were identified as My Nhan, Lilian Li, Muoi Ung, Hong Jian, Yu Kao, Chia Yau, Valentino Alvero, Wen Yu, Ming Ma, and Diana Tom.
Wen-Tau Yu
Their names. #MontereyPark
READ NEXT: More About Huu Can Tran.