“While the facts are still being gathered and this brutal crime continues being investigated, news of a mass shooting of revelers at a Lunar New Year celebration near Los Angeles, California that claimed 10 lives and injured 10 more is likely the latest, sad chapter chronicling the seemingly endless wave of anti-Asian hatred and violence. It’s a fact: members of our community have been and continue to be targeted on a near-daily basis. It must stop. Asian Americans have the right to feel, and be safe, in their homes, places of business, and communities. While we don’t want to rush to judgment, the fact that this attack happened at a Lunar New Year celebration observed primarily by the Asian American community, in a city with a large and growing Asian American population, continues to sicken our heart. The shooter’s ethnicity doesn’t matter; what matters is that Asian Americans continue being targeted for violent attacks. My thoughts and prayers, and the prayers of everyone at USPAACC, go out to the victims and their families who were impacted by this senseless crime. We need all Americans, and elected officials from both political parties at the federal, state, and local levels of government, to join in common cause and speak out – strongly and unequivocally – against anti-Asian hatred and violence and advance solutions to stop future attacks.” – Susan Au Allen, National President and CEO, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) said.
