All killed in Monterey Park shooting were 50 or older; two identified by coroner

Officials on Monday identified two of the 10 people killed in Saturday’s mass shooting at a ballroom in Monterey Park amid Lunar New Year celebrations.

The victims have been identified as My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.

In addition to Nhan and Li, three other women were killed, two in their 50s and one in her 60s. Five men were killed, three in their 70s and two in their 60s.

Officials have not released the names of the remaining eight people killed in the attacks, waiting to notify their families.

A gunman opened fire inside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park — a city at the heart of Los Angeles County’s Chinese community — killing 10 people and injuring 10 others. Soon after, the shooter entered a second dance studio in Alhambra, but was disarmed.

A motive in the attack hasn’t yet been made clear, but the suspected gunman was found Sunday in a white van in Torrance, where officials said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In a statement released on Twitter, Nhan’s family said she spent years going to the dance studio in Monterey Park on weekends.

“It’s what she loved to do,” the statement read. “But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance.”

Her family described her warm smile and contagious kindness.

“We are starting the Lunar New Year broken. We never imagined her life would end so suddenly.”

Friends identified another of the victims as Ming Wei Ma.

Dariusz Michalski, an instructor at Star Dance, had to stop to compose himself when speaking about the student he had taught for several years. His former student helped manage the studio and was affectionately known by all as Mr. Ma.

“It was heartbreaking,” Michalski said. “We are just speechless and cannot find the words to describe how we feel right now.”

In a Facebook post, Lauren Woods, another dance instructor, called “Mr. Ma” the heart of the studio. She wrote, “Ma was everything at Star and we were always so connected with him.”

When Ma would see her, she wrote, he’d say, “my teacher,” kiss her cheeks and say, “Love you! Love you!”

“He was so adorable to me and I could tell he was the heart of Star Ballroom,” Woods said. “So many dancers, teachers and organizers were connected with Ma and I personally will miss him dearly.”