Monday, January 23 top stories
It is Monday, January 23. Here are today’s top stories.
Mass shooting during Lunar New Year celebration
A gunman opened fire in a packed dance hall during a Lunar New Year festival in Monterey Park, California on Saturday night, killing 10 people.
The Lunar New Year is a huge festival in China and is also celebrated by Chinese Americans here in the U.S. Monterey Park is a predominantly Asian American city of about 60,000 people.
The gunman was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.
Police said Tran killed 5 men and 5 women at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, left, and then went into another dance studio and may have tried to do another mass shooting but a person there wrestled the gun away.
Tran fled the scene in his white van and on Sunday morning, as police officers approached it, Tran committed suicide by shooting himself.
The person who wrestled the gun away from Tran at the second dance hall is Brandon Tsay. He said in an interview that he was in the office of the lobby when he saw a man holding a gun and prepping it. Tsay said that his first thought was that he would die here, but he found the courage to lunge at him and grab the weapon. The two fought but Tsay managed to pull the gun away and point it at Tran and told him to get away. He left and Tsay called police.
The gun was an M11 9mm semi-automatic handgun and may look similar to these pictures.
Police said it is not clear what Tran’s motive was, but the city’s mayor said Tran may have been targeting his ex-wife.
Nine out of the 10 victims were in their 60s and 70s. One was in her 50s.
News analysts and commentators said the shooting was traumatizing for Asian Americans who have gone through several years of stress and fear from anti-Asian violence.
Separately, it is yet another terrible mass shooting in America, where people have easy access to guns and bullets.
Violent protests in Atlanta over “Cop City”
ABC News said there were both peaceful and violent protests over the weekend in Atlanta, Georgia over a proposed police training ground.
The city plans to develop about 85 acres of a wooded area and construct a new facility for law enforcement training. Its nickname is “Cop City.”
There are activists opposed to the project who have camped out on the construction site for months. Last week police raided the forest, shot and killed a protester, and claimed that the protester shot an officer first. The protester’s name was Manuel Esteban Paez.
On Saturday night people gathered for a protest and marched downtown. Some of the protesters broke windows and damaged police vehicles. Police said the protest was initially peaceful but some individuals chose to become violent.
Six people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. Five of the protesters were from out of state.
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Pamela Anderson says Tim Allen flashed her
News reports said Pamela Anderson wrote in her forthcoming memoir that Tim Allen flashed himself to her on the set of the “Home Improvement” TV show in 1991. Anderson was 23 and Allen was 37.
Anderson had a role as Lisa the Tool Girl. She said on the first day of filming, as she walked out of her dressing room, she saw Allen in the hallway in his robe. He opened his robe to show himself completely naked. Allen then made a joke that he had already seen her naked before so they are now even.
Allen said the allegation is untrue — that it “never happened” and that he “would never do such a thing.”
Tragic update on polar bear attack
AP News provided an update on the polar bear attack that killed two people in Wales, Alaska last week. It was a 24-year-old mother named Summer Myomick and her 1-year-old son named Clyde.
It was very windy outside and there was blowing snow. The mother was walking from a school to a health clinic and it was hard to see outside. The polar bear was able to conceal itself in the storm and attacked the mother and baby.
The principal of the school ordered a lockdown and closed the blinds so children couldn’t see what was happening outside. Several people from the school got outside and tried to scare away the bear, but the bear chased after them, forcing them to retreat and slam the door before the animal could get inside. There was a call for community members to help — there is no police in town — and a person showed up with a gun and killed the bear as it was mauling the mother and son.
The family of the mother said they were living in the school temporarily because their home had electrical issues that were under repair. The community is small, consisting of only 150 people, and the majority are Inupiat.
The last time there was a fatal polar bear attack in Alaska was 30 years ago. There is a GoFundMe set up by the family of the mother to provide support for the family who is going through immense grief.
Poland may send tanks to Ukraine
Poland’s government said it wants to give its Leopard tanks to Ukraine but will have to wait to get permission from Germany because the tanks were manufactured in Germany.
CBS News said the German government has shown signs that it would not block the transfer of tanks, but it has not yet made a formal statement approving the transfer.
Poland’s Prime Minister Morawiecki previously said if Germany takes too long to respond, it would move on its own to find a way to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military said it needs the tanks to stop Russian attacks at the front lines.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/man-disarmed-monterey-park-shooter-speaks/story?id=96604445
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/23/entertainment/pam-anderson-tim-allen-book/index.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/summer-myomick-and-clyde-ongtowasruk-memorial
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-news-russia-war-poland-germany-leopard-main-battle-tanks/