‘We’ve become targets’: mass shootings are reshaping Asian Americans’ views on guns

After back-to-back attacks and amid rising anti-Asian hate, gun violence has become a key - and controversial - issue in communities

For Kevin Leung, a head instructor at a kung fu school in Monterey Park in Los Angeles county, California, the past eight weeks have been a disorienting readjustment to normalcy.

His academy, the Siu Lum Pai Kung Fu Association, had for years held weekly classes at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where he knew many members of the community. To combat the rise in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic, Leung also led many free self-defense classes there for Asian seniors.