An eruption of gunfire around 4 p.m. on Oct. 24, 1871, spurred what’s believed to be the most lethal example of racial violence ever recorded in the city — the Los Angeles Chinese massacre. 

Hundreds made up the largely white mob that descended upon what’s now downtown Los Angeles. They indiscriminately beat, shot or hanged any Chinese person they saw. 

The spasm of violence left at least 18 Chinese people, an estimated 9% of L.A.’s Chinese population, dead at a time when the city barely registered 5,700 people. The victims included the Chinese community’s only physician, Dr. Gene Tong. 

Today, that history is largely forgotten. But now, the city of Los Angeles is trying to commemorate this history. 

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