The victims and surviving family members of two recent California mass shootings were top of mind on Thursday, as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden held an event honoring the Lunar New Year at the White House.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden honored the victims and surviving family members of two recent California mass shootings

  • Two shooters opened fire on multiple groups of people in separate incidents last weekend 

  • Biden also celebrated the actions of Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old who disarmed the Monterey Park shooter as he sought to open fire at a second location

“It’s wonderful to see so many friends on this special holiday even as we gather with such heavy hearts,” Biden said. “Our prayers are with the people of Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, and after yet another spree of gun violence in America.”

Thursday’s gathering, marking the first new moon of the new year, featured a traditional Chinese lion dance. Yet the shooting deaths of 11 people in Los Angeles County’s Monterey Park on Saturday, and seven people in Half Moon Bay, a coastal community in Northern California, were at the fore owing to their targets: members of the Asian community. 

The alleged shooters in both incidents were both men over 65, and both of Asian descent. The alleged Half Moon Bay shooter, who is currently in custody, killed former co-workers at two job sites on Monday. Preliminary reports are grasping for motives in Monterey Park, in which the shooter targeted two dance halls, both of which he reportedly attended in the past.

The Monterey Park rampage could have been far worse, if not for the actions of 26-year-old Brandon Tsay, who was working at the second dance hall targeted by the shooter. Shortly after the gunman entered the dance hall and pulled his weapon, Tsay disarmed him, and the shooter fled. The shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot by police one day after his rampage.

Biden called Tsay a “genuine hero” in his remarks.

“He heard the front door close, saw a man pointing a gun at him. Instead of running, Brandon said he thought he was going to die,” Biden said. “But then he thought about the people inside…and in that moment, he follows his instinct, and he follows his courage.”

Both communities, Biden said, are tight-knit places that will be affected by the shootings for years to come. 

The president considered postponing the event, he said — but California Congresswoman Judy Chu, a former mayor of Monterey Park, insisted that the White House celebration continue.

“She said, we have to move forward. Her message was, don’t give into fear and sorrow. Stand in solidarity, and in the spirit of toughness that this holiday is all about,” Biden said, to show that “even with heavy hearts, we have unbreakable spirits.”

The event also called to mind Biden’s signing of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, a 2021 piece of legislation that sought to address hate crimes against members of the Asian community in America that arose amid the COVID pandemic.