There have been more than three dozen mass shootings across the United States in January 2023.
In California alone, six killed in Goshen; seven killed in Half Moon Bay, and on Saturday night, 11 killed in Monterey Park.
On Wednesday, students at East Los Angeles College gathered for an evening vigil. Their campus is only three miles from the Monterey Park ballroom where a gunman killed 11 people, celebrating the Lunar New Year. All of the victims were Asian American.
Listen to what students said at the East Los Angeles College vigil
“It makes you have a wake up call,” said Samantha Rodriguez, a 23-year-old ELAC student. She says every time a shooting happens, she is first heartbroken, then angry. “It makes you be more aware of your surroundings, more aware of your world, more aware of your environment on a daily basis, and makes sure you stay alert on what needs to be changed, and how we can go about that.”
Rodriguez is studying psychology and is the student government vice president. Rodriguez says one of the worst parts of a mass shooting is the powerlessness that it brings. She says she feels a strong urge to protect her classmates.
I am not done changing the world. And one day I hope that their children, their families, generations to follow will be protected because I helped with that.
— Samantha Rodriguez, 23
“I’m just really heartbroken and saddened because I grew up in Alhambra for 18 years before coming to East L.A. College,” she says. “Now being a part of East L.A. College, more than I could ever imagine, and it…
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