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Task Force To Study And Develop Reparation Proposals For African Americans Votes On Reparations For Black Californians 

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This Saturday, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans held its 15th public meeting in Oakland, California. The panel was created to consider reparations for Black residents in California, and throughout the nation. 

According to Kamilah Moore, who’s on the chair of the panel, the group voted over the weekend to approve recommendations for the payments of reparations to Black Californians for injustices and discrimination that stems back to slavery. 

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The specific recommendations will be discussed and presented at the task force’s next meeting before it goes on to be presented to the Legislature by July 1st. The recommendations could cost the state billions of dollars in its outlined restitutions. 

The task force specifically outlined the reparations they are attempting to gain, as reported by CNN, which includes: 

  • “Estimated value of payment for health care disparities: $13,619 for each year of residency, based on 71-year life expectancy.
  • Estimated payment for housing discrimination: $148,099 or $3,366 for each year between 1933 and 1977 spent as a resident of the state.
  • Estimated payment for mass incarceration and over policing: $115,260 or $2,352 for each year of residency in California during the 49-year period between 1971 and 2020.”

The task force has also previously called for a state office to process the reparation claims as a means of “identifying and mitigating the ways that current and previous policies have damaged and destabilized Black families.”

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Additionally, the task force has overall goals of restoring historical sites, supporting educational funding/resource building, as well as offering free legal aid and other services to those who need it but may not be able to afford it. 

Other goals include updating the language used in the state’s Constitution, removing any racial bias and discriminatory practices in standardized testing, compensating individuals who were deprived of profits through their work, investing in free healthcare programs, and delivering apologies for acts of political disenfranchisement. 

According to the US Census Bureau, California has a Black population of 2.5 million people. It’s currently unclear how the Legislature would put some, or all, of these recommendations in place, however, the future meetings of the task force will likely outline those steps. 

The task force’s next meeting is set to be held on June 29th in Sacramento so the group can finalize any changes to the recommendations before presenting it to the Legislature.

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Kim Potter, Former Minnesota Police Officer, Released From Prison After Serving 16 Months For Killing Daunte Wright 

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Former Minnesota police officer Kimberly Potter has been released from prison after serving 16 months of a two-year sentence for fatally shooting Daunte Wright. Potter shot Wright after mistaking her gun for a taser during a traffic stop in Brooklyn. 

Kimberly Potter, a former Minnesota police officer, has been released from prison after serving 16 months of a two-year sentence for the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, an unarmed Black man, during a traffic stop in which Potter mistook her gun for a taser. Potter was released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility at 4 a.m. this Monday, according to CNN, citing that the early morning release was due to safety concerns. The department was also worried about the potential for violent protests outside the facility. 

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Potter was convicted of two counts of manslaughter after the 2021 incident in which Wright, who was unarmed, was initially pulled over for having expired tags and hanging an air freshener in his car before he was fatally shot. 

The corrections department also stated that Potter will be on supervised release for the remainder of her sentence; the supervised release will expire in December. Katie Wright, Daunte’s mother, told CNN that she was “dreading” Potter’s release, and has been struggling to find peace and health after the death of her son. She stated the stress of the trial and conviction led to her suffering a stroke. 

“Some say I should forgive to be at peace but how can I? I am so angry. She is going to be able to watch her kids have kids and be able to touch them. I am always scared I am going to forget my son’s voice. It gave us some sense of peace knowing she would not be able to hold her sons. She has two. I can’t hold my son.”

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Potter is allegedly planning on leaving Minnesota to live in Wisconsin. Katie Wright said that the fact that Potter will not be able to serve as a police officer again has given her some sense of peace during this time of grief. 

“She will never be able to hurt anybody as a police officer again. That is the only sense of peace we get as a family,” Katie Wright said. 

The city of Brooklyn Center agreed to pay a $3.25 settlement to the Wright family in June 2022. The family has yet to see the payment due to unrelated legal disputes, however, they are likely to receive the payment within the next 90 days. 

The settlement also stated that Brooklyn Center Police officers must undergo implicit bias training, which hasn’t happened yet, but is allegedly “in the works.” 

The Brooklyn Center City Council also approved “The Daunte Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler Community Safety and Violence Prevention Resolution. The city will create an unarmed department to handle all incidents where a city resident is primarily experiencing a medical, mental health, disability-related, or other behavioral or social need.”

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Texas County Considers Closing Its Libraries after Federal Judge Orders Banned Books Returned to Shelves

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A federal judge ordered a rural Texas county to return 12 banned books back to library shelves, and now the county is considering closing its libraries altogether.

The list of banned books included “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson, “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti and “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen” by Jazz Jennings.

Seven local residents sued county officials for removing the books, citing their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Federal Judge Robert Pitman ruled that the Llano County Library System had to reinstate the books into circulation at its three library branches.

A meeting agenda for the Commissioners Court of Llano County shows plans for a discussion to “continue or cease operations of the current physical Llano County library system pending further guidance from the Federal Courts.” The meeting is set for Thursday.

The agenda also lists discussions “regarding the continued employment and/or status of the Llano County Library System employees and the feasibility of the use of the library premises by the public.”

Leila Green Little, one of the residents suing the county, emailed supporters to attend the meeting and voice their concerns.

“We may not get another opportunity to save our library system and, more importantly, the public servants who work there.”

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According to the lawsuit, in 2021, county officials allegedly removed library board members and replaced them with new members who would review the content of all library books. Several books were removed from libraries, and access to an e-book service was revoked shortly after.

In his decision, Judge Pitman stated, “The First Amendment prohibits the removal of books from libraries based on either viewpoint or content discrimination” and gave the library system 24 hours to return the books to their shelves.

In a statement to CNN, Ellen Leonida, the attorney representing the seven residents, underscored the extreme measure the county was considering.

“It appears that the defendants would rather shut down the Library System entirely — depriving thousands of Llano County residents of access to books, learning resources, and meeting space — than make the banned books available to residents who want to read them.”

There is a growing movement for the censorship of books in grade schools, universities and public libraries. According to CNN, books that tell the stories of Black and LGBTQ people or by authors in those communities were among the ten most challenged titles in 2021. The trend continued the following year.

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The American Library Association reported that, in the two decades since it began tracking book censorship, the number of attempts to ban books had reached an all-time high in 2022 at 1,269 total demands.

“The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 challenges reported in 2021. A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. Of those titles, the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color. Of the reported book challenges, 58% targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.”

In a press release, Deborah Caldwelll-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, stated, “Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media.”

“Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color. Each attempt to ban a book by one of these groups represents a direct attack on every person’s constitutionally protected right to freely choose what books to read and what ideas to explore. The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police.”

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Trump To Surrender In New York After Being Indicted 

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Former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to fly to New York City on Monday, following his recent indictment, before his scheduled arraignment regarding the hush money he paid to an adult film star before the 2016 election. 

Security in Manhattan is currently increasing as they prepare for Trump to be arraigned, fingerprinted, and photographed at the downtown Manhattan courthouse this Tuesday. Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges; his lawyers are stating that he will be pleading not guilty. 

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Tuesday’s arraignment will be the first time Trump appears in court and in front of a judge in this case. The specific charges included in this case have not been disclosed to the public. 

According to social media reports, Trump is planning to leave his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Monday to head for Trump Tower in Manhattan before the arraignment Tuesday morning. Trump’s office also reported that he will be returning to Florida Tuesday evening to deliver remarks Tuesday evening. 

New York City police began setting up barricades along the edge of sidewalks surrounding Trump Tower this past weekend as well as the Manhattan Criminal Court building. 

According to a statement from the New York Police Department, “officers have been placed on alert and the department remains ready to respond as needed and will ensure everyone is able to peacefully exercise their rights.”

Other courtrooms in the building will be shut down before the arraignment as a part of police security precautions. 

Leading up to the indictment, the grand jury heard evidence regarding a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, leading up to Trump’s presidential campaign. 

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Daniels claimed she was paid to remain silent regarding a sexual encounter she had with the former president in 2006, a claim Trump has denied. 

This New York case is one of many legal probes against Trump; a prosecutor in Georgia is currently investigating Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

The US Justice Department has also been investigating Trump’s actions during the 2020 election results, as well as his retention of highly classified documents during his White House exit in the beginning of 2021. 

Joe Tacopina, one of Trump’s lawyers, said on Sunday he “expects more details surrounding the arraignment to be resolved on Monday, the Secret Service, which protects former presidents, also has a role to play on Tuesday.”

“I honestly don’t know how this is going to go – hopefully as smoothly as possible – and then we begin the battle to right this wrong,” Tacopina told CNN.

Tacopina added that Trump’s lawyers “will dissect the indictment once it is made public and will look at every potential issue to challenge. We anticipate making a motion to dismiss the charges at some point.”

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Mexican Drug Cartel Issues Apology for Deaths of Kidnapped Americans

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A Mexican drug cartel believed to be responsible for the kidnapping last week that ended in the deaths of two Americans and a Mexican woman in Matamoros, Mexico, has issued an apology letter. The cartel also handed over five of its members, believed to be the perpetrators, to local authorities.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter from authorities in Tamaulipas, Mexico, where the kidnappings occurred.

“The [Gulf Cartel] apologizes to the society of Matamoros, the relatives of Ms. Areli, and the affected American people and families.”

The two murdered Americans have been identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown. Their bodies were delivered to US diplomatic authorities. Survivors Latavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams returned to the U.S. and were hospitalized.

According to family members who spoke to CNN, the four victims were close friends from South Carolina. They drove to Matamoros for McGee to have surgery.

The FBI reported that the trip abruptly ended when gunmen opened fire on the group’s van before forcing the Americans into another vehicle and driving them away. A stray bullet also killed a Mexican bystander during the shooting.

Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica believes the cartel may have mistaken the Americans for Haitian drug smugglers.

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The Associated Press reported that a photograph depicting five men bound, lying face down on the pavement, with their shirts pulled over their heads, was included with the apology letter they received.

A separate unnamed state security official said five men had been discovered tied up inside a vehicle authorities had been searching for alongside the handwritten letter. Police have not confirmed that they have the new suspects in custody.

The cartel stated that the five men did not abide by the cartel’s rules, including “respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.” Allegedly, they acted of their own volition.

“The Gulf Cartel, Scorpion Group, strongly condemns the events of last Friday. For this reason, we decided to hand over those directly involved and responsible for the acts, who at all times acted under their own determination and indiscipline and against the rules in which the [Gulf Cartel] always operates.”

Authorities have yet to confirm the letter’s authenticity. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University who studies cartels, told CNN that in the wake of high-profile incidents, it is common practice for Mexican cartels, particularly in the country’s northeast, to issue statements to the authorities or rival groups.

The official who shared the letter with CNN said that Mexican and American authorities investigating the kidnapping have doubts about whether the apology letter is authentic. If so, they believe the apology was issued after the attack drew much attention to the cartel’s activities and increased public scrutiny of their movements.

Mexican security analyst David Saucedo told The Associated Press that the killings brought in National Guard troops and an Army special forces to run patrols that “heat up the plaza” in “narco terminology.”

“It is very difficult right now for them to continue working in terms of street-level drug sales and transferring drugs to the United States; they are the first ones interested in closing this chapter as soon as possible.”

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Shaeed Woodard’s father, James Woodard, watched the video of his son’s abduction on television and said it was difficult to get through.

“That was so hard for me to see those videos and see him dragged and thrown on the back of the vehicle. He was a baby, and for him to be taken from me like that was very hurtful. My family is hurt real bad because he was so lovable. He had the biggest heart.”

Eric Williams’s wife, Michele Williams, told CNN that her husband was shot three times in the legs. She revealed that Williams underwent surgery in Texas after he and McGee were found alive. McGee was unharmed, but she was traumatized.

“She watched them die. They were driving through and a van came up and hit them, and that’s when they started shooting at the car, shooting inside the van. … She said the others tried to run, and they got shot at the same time.”

The kidnapping and murder have intensified US and Mexican efforts to reduce cartel activities, a key factor of the fentanyl trade between the two countries. According to a government report, Mexico is the “dominant force” of fentanyl in the United States.

A U.S. National Security Council spokesman told CNN that a U.S. delegation traveled to Mexico to “discuss our governments’ ongoing cooperation in combating illicit fentanyl.” They will address the kidnapping and develop a “fundamental strategy to attack the cartels.”

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Walgreens To Stop Distribution And Sales Of Abortion Pills In 20 States

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Walgreens has announced that they won’t be distributing abortion pills in 20 states, despite some of them being states where abortion is legal, after receiving a warning letter from Republican attorneys general. 

The letter itself warned Walgreens that they could face legal consequences if they sold abortion medication within their states. NBC News reported that Walgreens responded to every attorney general who wrote to them, agreeing to not sell abortion pills by mail or in stores within the 20 states mentioned. 

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“This is a very complex and in flux area of the law, and we are taking that into account as we seek certification to dispense mifepristone,” Fraser Engerman, Walgreens’ senior director of external relations, told NBC News.

“We are not dispensing mifepristone at this time. We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however we will only dispense in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do if we are certified,” Engerman stated.

Albertsons, CVS, Costco, Kroger, Rite Aid, and Walmart also received letters making the same demands and warnings. 

The attorneys general who sent the letter were from states where abortion is currently illegal, such as Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia, and in states where abortion is still legal such as Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana. 

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“We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states,” the letter said.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said on Facebook that he wants to ensure “that pharmacies throughout the nation aren’t subverting state and federal statute to ship abortion pills in the mail.”

According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 50% of US abortions in 2020 were done using medication instead of surgery. 

In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that the state will no longer be doing business with Walgreens due to their decision to no longer sell abortion medication. 

“California won’t be doing business with @walgreens — or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk,” Newsom said in a tweet.

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More Than 950,000 Households Without Power After Winter Storm

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A powerful winter storm is sweeping across the United States this week, pummeling areas from Southern California to the Northeast with bitter cold and snowstorms. As of Thursday morning, around 990,000 households across the country were without power, and more than 1,700 flights have been canceled.

On Wednesday, the storm system unleashed powerful winds, heavy snow, freezing rain and frigid temperatures onto much of the Midwest, damaging powerlines and leaving hundreds of thousands in the dark.

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a winter storm warning for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties until early Friday. A rare blizzard warning is in effect for the same areas from Friday through Saturday, cautioning people of wind gusts of up to 80 mph, near zero visibility and heavy snow.

It has been decades since the Los Angeles National Weather Service office issued a blizzard warning, with the last one being issued in 1989. Forecasters predict up to 7 feet of snow in areas more than 6,000 feet above sea level and 1-4 inches in elevations less than 2,500 feet. Areas along the coast and valleys could see a few inches of rain.

The Los Angeles Weather Service tweeted that the growing storm was “cold and dangerous” earlier this week.

“Now is the time to prepare for a COLD AND DANGEROUS winter storm expected for much of the week. Several FEET of snow is expected in the mountains with a few inches possible as low as 1000 feet. Gusty and potentially damaging winds are also expected.”

As of Thursday morning, the forecast remains the same.

“We are still on track for our DANGEROUS winter storm. Expect blizzard conditions in the mountains with FEET of snowfall. A few inches of rain are expected in lower elevations. Be weather ready!”

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Andrew Rorke, a senior forecaster for the Los Angeles National Weather Service, said the storm would be “a snowmaker of the likes we have not seen for many years.”

David Sweet, a meteorologist at National Weather Service’s Oxnard office, said that between late Thursday and early Saturday, the area was “looking at a storm delivering more snow than any other storm in recent decades.” The “cold core” of the storm will center in on Los Angeles on Saturday.

“It’s going to be a wild and woolly kind of day — the lightning, the thunder, the hail, the graupel. No one is going to be spared.”

More than 41,000 people were without power on Thursday morning across the state. The powerful winds have already downed trees and damaged roofs.

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services advised Californians on how to prepare for the growing storm. Instructions include preparing a go-bag containing important documents, cash, medications, food, water, clothing and pet supplies. The office also advised people not to use a gas stove or oven to heat their homes.

On Wednesday, meteorologists in the Midwest reported that heavy snow and strong winds originating in the Northern Rockies were making their way east across the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Blizzard warnings were in place for people living near the Twin Cities and across large portions of Minnesota and the Dakotas.

Hundreds of schools canceled classes on Thursday in Minneapolis. In Michigan, Grand Rapid Public Schools canceled class for the second day.

By Thursday morning, 900,000 households were without power across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, with 772,000 of those outages being in Michigan.

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The National Weather Service Twin Cities tweeted that the storm was starting to wind down, with most nearby areas receiving about a foot of snow.

“Thankfully, this storm didn’t produce the amounts it had the potential to, but it still produced a lot, and combined with the windy conditions it is simply not safe to travel right now. Many roads remain completely snow-covered and in some cases closed. Stay safe out there!”

Parts of the Northeast also experienced snowstorms and flat ice accumulation this week. A winter watch is in effect for parts of Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

Snow totaling up to a foot is likely in areas of high elevation like the Adirondacks and the Green and White Mountains. Lower elevation areas, like upstate New York and central New England, will receive up to 4 inches.

Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statement cautioning, “New Yorkers in impacted regions should take action now to prepare for the incoming snow and ice, as power outages and hazardous travel are a concern this week.”

As of Thursday morning, 22,000 households across New York do not have power.

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Ohio Sets Up Clinic For Citizens Reporting Health Problems Following Toxic Train Wreck

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East Palestine, Ohio residents have been coping with the aftermath of a toxic train wreck that contaminated soil and filled the air with black smoke. Residents in Ohio are now reporting a growing number of health issues such as nausea and trouble breathing. 

Ohio has announced that they will be opening a health clinic this week for residents who are worried that their sickness may be related to the derailment of the Norfolk Southern freight train which released the toxic chemical vinyl chloride into the air. 

At the request of Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine, medical teams from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Health will be on the ground helping citizens this week. The community impacted has around 5,000 residents, and the health teams will help assess any remaining dangers within the community. 

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The US Environmental Protection Agency has not detected any dangerous levels of contaminants so far in more than 530 homes which have endured air quality tests, according to reports from CNN. 

EPA official Tiffani Kavalec told CNN last week that no vinyl chloride has been detected in any downgradient waterways near the train derailment. 

US Senator Sherrod Brown stated, however, that “residents are right to be skeptical. We think the water’s safe, but when you return to your home, you should be tested again for your water and your soil and your air, not to mention those that have their own wells.”

Some waterways in the areas have been contaminated, with reports of thousands of fish dying, however, officials stated that the contaminates have all likely been contained. 

Hundreds of residents in East Palestine have been attending town hall meetings to voice their concerns and demand answers regarding how safe they truly are. The Ohio Department of Health is opening their clinic on Tuesday as a means of helping residents recover, and have their minds eased. 

“I heard you, the state heard you, and now the Ohio Department of Health and many of our partner agencies are providing this clinic, where people can come and discuss these vital issues with medical providers,” said the department’s director, Dr. Bruce Vanderhof.

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According to the US EPA and CDC, “vinyl chloride, a man-made substance used to make PVC, can cause dizziness, sleepiness, and headaches and has been linked to an increased risk of cancer in the liver, brain, lungs, and blood. The burning of vinyl chloride gas could break down into compounds including hydrogen chloride and phosgene, a chemical weapon used during World War 1 as a choking agent.” 

“Norfolk Southern is scrapping and removing rail cars at the derailment location, excavating contaminated areas, removing contaminated liquids from affected storm drains, and staging recovered waste for transportation to an approved disposal facility. Air monitoring and sampling will continue until removal of heavily contaminated soil in the derailment area is complete and odors subside in the community,”  the EPA said Sunday.

“The people of East Palestine cannot be forgotten, nor can their pain be simply considered the cost of doing business,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote to the railway’s chief executive, Alan Shaw.

“You have previously indicated to me that you are committed to meeting your responsibilities to this community, but it is clear that area residents are not satisfied with the information, presence, and support they are getting from Norfolk Southern in the aftermath and recovery,” Buttigieg added.

The CEO of Norfolk Southern posted a letter to East Palestine residents on Saturday: 

“I hear you, we are here and will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive. Together with local health officials, we have implemented a comprehensive testing program to ensure the safety of East Palestine’s water, air, and soil. [We] also started a $1 million fund “as a down payment on our commitment to help rebuild.”

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China Spy Balloons Discovered Under Biden, But This Is Not The First Time They’ve Appeared

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According to a senior administration official working under President Joe Biden, the recent sighting of the spy balloon from China is not the first time one has appeared in the US in recent years. In fact, three suspected spy balloons from China appeared over the US during the Trump administration, but were not discovered until Biden took office. 

The official told CNN that the intelligence committee is currently preparing to give briefings to key Trump administration officials regarding the surveillance program from China. The Biden Administration believes that the program has been deployed in five continents within he past several years. 

The Pentagon initially stated that similar balloon sightings had been reported during Trump’s administration following the suspected Chinese spy balloon sighting over Montana last week. 

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“I don’t ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States,” said former Trump administration Defense Secretary Mark Esper to CNN.

A former national security adviser under Trump, John Bolton, reasserted Esper’s point stating that the former administration had knowledge of the surveillance program: “Did the Biden administration invent a time machine? What is the basis of this new detection?”

“The very fact, if it is a fact, that the Chinese tried this before, should have alerted us and should have caused us to take action before the balloon crossed into American sovereign territory.”

An official with the Biden Administration stated the previous incidents were not discovered until Trump had already left office, but no information has been given regarding when these supposed previous sightings happened or how. 

The Pentagon has reportedly briefed Congress regarding the precious Chinese balloon surveillance sightings during the Trump administration that, at the time, flew over Texas and Florida. 

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Representative Michael Waltz said in a statement to CNN that “currently, we understand there were incursions near Florida and Texas, but we don’t have clarity on what kind of systems were on these balloons or if these incursions occurred in territorial waters or overflew land.”

“Another Chinese spy balloon also transited the continental US briefly at the beginning of the Biden administration, the senior administration official said. But the balloon that was shot down by the US military on Saturday was unique in both the path it took, down from Alaska and Canada into the US, and the length of time it spent loitering over sensitive missile sites in Montana,” officials stated to CNN.

“Closely observing the balloon in flight has allowed us to better understand this Chinese program and further confirmed its mission was surveillance.”

Biden acknowledged that he ordered the Pentagon to shoot the balloon down last Wednesday when he was initially briefed of its presence over Montana. 

“Shooting it down over water also maximized the possibility of recovering the payload – the equipment carried by the balloon that the US says was being used for surveillance – intact and able to be examined further by the US intelligence community,” officials said.

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Man Who Stopped Monterey Park Mass Shooter Speaks On Tragedy

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Brandon Tsay is the individual responsible for stopping the Monterey Park mass shooter at the Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra, California. Tsay is being hailed as a hero who saved multiple lives after disarming 72-year-old Huu can Tran, who later died due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Tsay recently spoke to ABC News about the shooting which left him completely “shook.”

“It was Chinese New Year’s. We were hosting a social dance party. I was in the lobby. It was late into the evening, most of our customers had already left. I wasn’t paying attention to the front door — I was looking into the dance ballroom, the dance floor, and this is when I heard the sound of the front door quickly closing and instantly followed by the sound of metal objects clinking together as if they were rubbing. That’s when I turned around and saw that there was an Asian man holding a gun,” Tsay explained.

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“He didn’t seem like he was here for any money, he wasn’t here to rob us. When he was looking around the room it seemed like he was looking for targets – people to harm. I needed to disarm him or else everybody would have died,” Tsay stated.

“Something came over me – I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him. When I got the courage I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle. We struggled into the lobby, trying to get the gun away from each other.”

“He was hitting me across the face. Bashing the back of my head. I was trying to use my elbows to separate the gun away from him, creating some distance. At this point I thought he would run away, but he was just standing there, contemplating whether to fight or to run away. I really thought I would have to shoot him,” Tsay said.

Tsay then called the police after noting that the shooter walked out of the studio and into his van. The struggle with the shooter left Tsay with bruising on his body, across his face, and the back of the head.

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“After the incident, I was shook. I was shaken all night. I couldn’t believe what happened.”

“A lot of people have been telling me how much courage I had to confront the situation like this, but you know what courage is? Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to have adversity of fear when fearful events happen such as this,” Tsay explained when discussing the public hailing him as a hero.

Representative Mark Takano, who represents Riverside County near where the mass shooting took place, said the area “has vibrant communities, Asian American communities. The shooting is a tragedy of incomprehensible proportions.”

The shooting took place as the community and world celebrated the Lunar New Year, which is a very important holiday for Asian Americans.

“It’s a very joyous time of year for families to get together and to have a tragedy like this happen on the eve of the Lunar New Year is just incredibly sad and tragic,” said Takano.

“I just want to emphasize to the community that thanks to the good work of L.A. County Sheriff [Robert] Luna and his deputies, the suspect was identified very quickly. We know the suspect took his own life, so the community can feel safe from that threat,” Takano noted.