June 21, 2025

I was lining up for a store along with my dad on a busy street. There was a commotion as someone rushed past us, crashing through the crowds as a person with a stun gun in hand chased after them. Someone took out a handgun. We immediately got onto the floor as two shots rang out. The man being chased and a police officer were both stunned. I thought it must’ve been an accident. Moments later a group of masked people carried their limp bodies away.

I sat up as I tried to process what had just happened. Several vans had arrived and blocked off our segment of the sidewalk. I quickly stood up, realizing that somehow we were also the target in whatever was happening. A friend led me into an unmarked van but reassured me that they didn’t know anything about this beforehand. This was the doing of their “Shanghai cohort”, they said.