Late Saturday night, the predominantly Asian American community of Monterey Park, California, was celebrating the Lunar New Year when a homicidal maniac with a gun attacked. When the attacker finished shooting inside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, ten lay dead, and ten more were wounded. An eleventh victim died Monday.

The assailant proceeded to a second dance studio, where a 26-year-old employee named Brandon Tsay wrestled the weapon away, preventing another mass-casualty incident.

Before there was any more information than the location and that there had been a shooting with multiple victims, Democrat officeholders and liberal activists took to Twitter. They employed the Rahm Emanuel maxim: “Never let a crisis go to waste.”

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Their reflexive response is to blame people they hate and take advantage of other people’s tragedies to pursue their agendas. When they open their mouths before facts come out, they reveal who they are: irresponsible, mean assholes.

Here is a sample of their Tweets:

“We must stand up to bigotry and hate whenever they rear their ugly heads.” —Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

“A horrific example of needless gun violence. With bigotry toward AAPI individuals as a possible motive.” —Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) (Does Schiff have any examples of NEEDED gun violence?)

“We must crush the rise of hatred and intolerance whenever and wherever it is found.” —Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

“There is no room in America for anti-Asian hate and violence.” —Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-OH)

“These mass shootings can’t continue, and Arizona stands united w/ the AAPI community against hate.” —Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ)

“I’ll keep working to prevent gun violence and make sure our government uses every tool to keep people safe.” —Senator Elizabeth Warren (Narcissist – MA)

Then there are a couple of activists who chimed in too:

“It appears that the Monterrey Park shooter was an ULTRA MAGA Donald Trump supporter. Not surprised.” —Erica Marsh (emphasis hers)

“My heart is breaking over this Monterrey Park shooting. It’s one of the most AAPI populated cities in the US… F**k Trump and the right for instigating this rise in anti-Asian hate. F**k your guns.” —Lacey Vorrasi-Banis

In the hours since the shooting, the public has learned a considerable amount. There’s more that we don’t know and may never find out. Although some deleted their Tweets, nobody apologized for their rush to judgment before the facts came out.

It turns out that the gunman was a 72-year-old Asian American. No ultra MAGA. No Trump, no right, no white. No anti-AAPI bigotry. No hate — at least not toward people of a different race or ethnic background. When tragedies happen, Democrat officeholders need to stay off social media — at least until they have facts.

Although most news services report it, as their First Amendment right, I will not use the shooter’s name. I believe that mass shooters seek personal fame. Therefore, like in the Harry Potter series, the bad guy in this horror story remains “he who shall not be named.”

Police in Torrance, California, about 30 miles from the shootings, spotted a white van matching the description of the suspect’s vehicle. The plates didn’t match the vehicle’s registration. The van pulled into a parking lot when the police attempted a traffic stop. A standoff occurred, during which time a SWAT team was called in. Police heard a single shot fired within the van. The gunman took his own life with a handgun. 

The New York Times reports he was born in Vietnam, while CNN reported that his ex-wife showed them a copy of a marriage license indicating that he immigrated from China. 

His motives are still unclear. What is known is that the gunman was a regular at both dance studios, where he gave free dance lessons, and was known to have a quick temper.

The New York Times reports that the police believe the gunman was “looking out for specific people for a specific reason. Some of those killed or wounded were likely people he knew, while others could have been shot randomly.”

The shooter may have had mental illnesses. We learned earlier in January he went to the City of Hemet Police twice. There he alleged that his family had poisoned him and stolen from him. He was going to come back with documentation but never returned. 

When tragedies happen, Democrat officeholders need to stay off social media — at least until they have facts.

It seems clear that these deaths weren’t due to white supremacy, because of anti-Asian sentiment, or even racially motivated.

The Monterey Park incident is like any other when the same notable Democrats have long enough to log on to Twitter before the suspect’s identity is known. Pick any random tragedy, and you will find examples.

In March 2021, a gunman killed ten people at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. No less than the race and inclusion editor of USA Today’s Sports Media Group, Hemal Jhaveri, Tweeted: “It’s always an angry white man. Always.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ niece, Meena Harris, chimed in with, “Violent white men are the greatest terrorist threat to our country.”

Imagine their surprise when the shooter turned out to be Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa, a twenty-one-year-old Syrian immigrant. Police took him alive. Al-Issa was found mentally incompetent to stand trial. His next hearing is this week (Jan. 27, 2023). 

While USA Today fired Jhaveri, Harris doubled down on stupid. In an interview with the Washington Post, she continued, “I made an assumption based on his being taken into custody alive and the fact that the majority of mass shootings in the US are carried out by white men.”

The statistics show that white men commit the majority of mass shootings, reflecting the population.

Of all sources, Mother Jones magazine has the most comprehensive look into who commits mass shootings. No matter what race, it’s men. Since 1982 there have been 133 mass shooting events carried out by men and just three by women. Two are reported as male and female.

• White commit 53% of mass shootings but are 59% of the population.
• Blacks commit 17% of mass shootings but are 14% of the population.
• Hispanics commit 8% of mass shootings but are 19% of the population. 
• Asians commit 7% of mass shootings but are 6% of the population.
• Native Americans commit 2% of mass shootings but are 1% of the population.
• People categorized as “other” commit 4% of mass shootings.
• It is unclear, unknown, or uncategorized who committed the mass shooting in 9% of the cases.

Whites commit a slightly lower percentage of mass shootings than their population of the country.

None of this will stop elected Democrats and activists from making the same accusations the next time. Until then, they will use the people who have lost their family and friends as pawns in their perpetual game to take away guns. 

Next week, the gun control debate.

This article has been updated to correct a mathematical error.

Andy Bloom is president of Andy Bloom Communications. He specializes in media training and political communications. He has programmed legendary stations including WIP, WPHT and WYSP/Philadelphia, KLSX, Los Angeles and WCCO Minneapolis. He was Vice President Programming for Emmis International, Greater Media Inc. and Coleman Research. Andy also served as communications director for Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio). He can be reached by email at andy@andybloom.com or you can follow him on Twitter @AndyBloomCom.