Council to honor shooting heroes
Brandon Tsay and first responders will be recognized
The Monterey Park City Council will honor the heroic actions of Brandon Tsay and the first responders of the Jan. 21 mass shooting at its Wednesday meeting.
Tsay, 26, was working at his family's Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra when he thwarted an attacker from repeating the violence seen at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio moments earlier in Monterey Park. Tsay wrestled and disarmed the gunman before a shot could be fired.
“I think all of us aspire and hope that we would react in the same way — I don't know that everyone would,” Monterey Park Councilmember Thomas Wong said. “His coming from an Asian American family right here in the San Gabriel Valley, that has a lot of meaning not just for Monterey Park but for all of us in Asian American communities.”
The council's formal recognition of Tsay comes just days after Tsay, former Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo and Juiley Phun — the niece of 67-year-old Star Ballroom Dance Studio shooting victim Muoi Dai Ung — among others were invited to Washington, D.C., by the White House because they personified issues or themes addressed by President Joe Biden in his State of the Union speech last week.
Tsay has been using his newfound notoriety to call for communities to work together for greater compassion and building bridges to each other as the community heals.
Both the city's police and fire rescuers were the first on the scene at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, and the council on Wednesday will take time to acknowledge their roles.
According to Fire Chief Matthew Hallock, his team is still recovering from the traumatic event that left 11 dead.
City Manager Ron Bow on Jan. 31 thanked first responders for “going beyond the call of duty,” at a news conference that included city officials and department heads at Monterey Park City Hall.
“You can train for it all day long, but when you're in the real thing — there's no playbook,” said Hallock. “There really is no playbook for what you're going to see.”
In related news, the California Contract Cities Association will host its board of directors meeting in Monterey Park on Thursday as it raises funds for the families affected.
During it's Jan. 31 meeting, the Monterey Park City Council unanimously voted to adopted a resolution to extend a local emergency resulting from the mass shooting and authorized the city manager to execute an executive order directing the California Community Foundation to administer the distribution of donated funds.