The owner of a donut shop in Arcadia, California, set out a donation box on his counter this month and collected $2,000 for the victims of the mass shooting last year in Monterey Park.
Arcadia Donuts owner Francois Ung then discovered last week that his car had been broken into and the money stolen. He has now started an online fundraiser for the attack at the Star Ballroom in January 2023, where 10 people were killed and the gunman later took his own life.
Ung, 52, said that at dawn last Tuesday, he was opening up his shop and, because he was running a bit late, rushed inside to get started, briefly leaving his laptop and the funds inside the car. When he glanced up at the security camera at the front of the store, he knew something was wrong.
“Suddenly I lifted my head and I see someone running,” Ung said. “‘Why is he running?’ I run right away outside and then saw my car’s driver side is broken.”
Security footage seen by NBC News shows a man, whose face is covered, smash the driver’s side window, pop open the trunk and scoop up items before sprinting away. Ung said he suspects that the thief had been watching him from across the plaza, determining the right time to strike.
The Arcadia Police Department confirmed to NBC News that they were investigating the incident but currently have no leads.
The money, set to go toward mental health services for victims, had been raised in memory of Andy Kao. Kao had been the longtime dance partner of Ung’s wife, Shally, and died next to her during the mass shooting. (Shally Ung survived.)
Ung said he’s desperate to get the funds back so he can properly honor Kao. As of Tuesday morning, he’s raised $615 of his $2,500 goal, which would go toward replacing the funds as well as the stolen laptop.
“If the guy wants to return the money, no questions asked, I would be happy,” he said, before speaking about Kao. “We became his family. Shally and I became his family. That’s why we wanted to raise that money and we wanted to do it every year.”
Ung and his wife began collecting funds this month at their donut shop in honor of what would’ve been Kao’s 73rd birthday. This is the second fundraiser they’ve thrown in Kao’s name, Ung said, and it’s been important to them to keep the late dancer’s memory alive.
Kao, Shally’s dance partner for 15 years, had been hiding with her under a table when he was shot. Kao was known as “Mr. Nice” for his sunny disposition and penchant for helping new dancers get in the groove, Ung said.
“He always tried to teach them the basic steps,” Ung said. “We become very good friends. And even we become almost like brothers. We always help each other.”
The donut shop itself, Ung said, was remodeled roughly two years ago by Kao, a general contractor by profession. Ung remembers Kao recommending that they add green and blue hues to the shop for an auspicious touch.
“He explained to me, ‘Green is for prosperity, and blue for happiness,’” Ung recalled.
The funds were also important, Ung explained, to bring more awareness to the need for mental health services. They had planned to send the donations to the MPK Hope Resiliency Center, a group that provides resources and professionals who speak Mandarin, Cantonese and English, aimed at supporting victims of the shooting, including Shally.
“My wife was there. She’s still traumatized, even after this incident,” Ung said. “I know mental health is important.”
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