Chicago's Lunar New Year celebration begins on somber note in wake of California mass shootings

CHICAGO (WLS) -- On a bitterly raw afternoon, a small cohort came together Saturday in a central Chinatown plaza, which served as a communal gathering spot for some much-needed collective comfort.

"In our hearts, we mourn because this is unprecedented in our community," said Ann Shaw, with Midwest Asian Health Association.

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It's been a gruelingly sad week trying to cope with two back-to-back mass shootings in California.

"We wanted to take this time to comfort each other as we mourn the loss of more members of our Asian American community," said Alderwoman Nicole Lee, 11th Ward.

The shootings shattered the joy of what should be Lunar New Year celebrations.

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"Because of these two shootings, the victims cannot reunite with their family for the special holiday," said Maggie Lee.

"To know now that it was perpetrated by someone from within the community, I think, is something we're going to be grappling with for a long time," Ald. Lee said.

Ald. Lee, the first Chinese American member of Chicago's city council, feels the weight of comforting her constituents.

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"This is an opportunity to have a bigger conversation, an ongoing conversation, about mental health," she said.

Now, with heavy hearts still in mourning, they'll try to recapture the essence of a new year and new beginning.

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Ald. Lee wanted to keep the somber remembrance separate from Sunday's Lunar New Year celebration.

With some added precautions and changes, the annual Lunar New Year parade will march on as planned.