Hundreds of people gathered at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown Thursday night, to remember the victims of the recent mass shootings in Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay and Oakland.
19 people were killed in the three separate shootings since the start of the Lunar New Year.
“Tonight, with heavy heart, we are grieving together. We’re exploring together,” said Vigil Organizer Josephine Zao.
During the vigil, Zhao shared how she overcame personal struggles by opening up and accepting help from friends and professionals.
“We can talk it through. We can shine lights, so we can seek the reasons for why these things happen and then make changes together,” she said.
Orchid Pusey, the head of the Asian Women’s Shelter in Oakland said pretending there’s no problem and not addressing it is shameful. She applauded everyone for their support for the victims but added there’s need a solution to address anyone in a mental health crisis before it’s too late and troubled thoughts turn to violence.
“So, that people have somewhere to call when someone is showing the signs, because they show the signs. It’s not out of the blue almost ever,” Pusey said.
Brady California president Mattie Scott lost her son and a nephew to gun violence and a niece to suicide and she’s been an advocate for gun reforms for more than two decades.
“We’re going to stand to ban assault weapons and weapons of mass destruction in this nation, because this is about all of us,” she said.
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Scott and two more members of the group Brady California said they know they face an uphill battle.
