Residents thought their community was safe from the gun violence that continues to plague the US.
The mass shooting at a ballroom dancing class during the Lunar New Year holiday, which left 10 people dead and 10 more injured, has rocked the quiet and close-knit neighborhood of Monterey Park.
The 60,000-person city in southern California, where 65 percent of people are of Asian origin, consistently ranks as one of the best and most tranquil places to live in the country, but the mass shooting has dented locals’ confidence in the security of their neighborhood.
“In my heart, I always felt the United States was the best country in the world,” Li Xia, who arrived in Monterey Park from China only four months ago.
“Now, I am so sad. I can’t believe it. I don’t want to stay here one more day. I don’t feel safe. I want to move back to China,” the 50-year-old retired math teacher told the Reuters news agency.
On Sunday morning, residents gathered in small groups in stunned disbelief and dismay.
There was a heavy police presence around the dance hall where the shooting unfolded, which was cordoned off by yellow police tape.
“This kind of thing doesn’t happen here,” Wynn Liaw, a resident who went to the venue after learning of the attack through the news bulletins.
Liaw, a 57-year-old retired veterinarian, has lived in Monterey Park for 40 years.
She finds it hard to believe that the shooting unfolded behind the white-and-green awning of the studio she passes every day on her way to do her shopping.
“This is a very safe neighbourhood, where I can walk alone at night and where I don’t have to worry about gun violence,” she told the AFP news agency as police helicopters whirred overhead.
