Saturday’s attack is the deadliest since the massacre in Uvalde, Texas.
On Saturday night, a gunman shot and killed 11 people and injured nine more at a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California. The suspect, who’s been identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The story is still developing, but we have the latest on the shooter, the victims, and Brandon Tsay’s heroic act. Check back for updates.
What happened in Monterey Park and why did Huu Can Tran target the area?
At about 10:20 p.m., the gunman opened fire inside a ballroom dance hall. Five women and five men were pronounced dead at the scene, while another victim died Monday while hospitalized. The shooting occurred close to where a large Lunar New Year celebration was held earlier that day. Officials have identified three of the victims — My Nhan, 65, Valentino Alvero, 68, and Lilian Li, 63. The others are reportedly in their 50s, 60s, or 70s. Three more people are still being treated, with one in serious condition.
Officials believe Tran then went to a second dance hall in the neighboring city of Alhambra. There he was confronted by Brandon Tsay, 26, the operator of the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio.
“He didn’t seem like he was looking for any money, he wasn’t here to rob us,” Tsay told Good Morning America. “When he was looking around the room it seemed like he was looking for targets, people to harm.”
At that point, Tsay said he realized he needed to do whatever he could to disarm him. “When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon, and we had a struggle,” he said. Tran later fled.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna credited him with saving lives, and added that a clear motive for the attack hasn’t yet been established.
“We do not have a motive yet,” he said. “We want to know as much as all of you, and we’re working very hard to attain that.”
At around 10:20 a.m. on Sunday morning, officers in Torrance — a city about 30 miles west of Monterey Park — spotted a white van matching the description of one seen leaving the Alhambra club, and followed it to a shopping center parking lot. A gunshot was heard, and SWAT teams later discovered Tran’s body inside the vehicle.
What do we know about the shooter, Huu Can Tran?
Several people who knew Huu Can Tran told CNN that he had given “informal dance lessons” at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park and that he’d met his ex-wife there. He lives in a senior community called The Lakes in Hemet, California, which is about 80 miles east of Monterey Park. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has obtained a search warrant for his home.
Authorities haven’t offered a motive for the attack, but law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that it may have been sparked by a personal dispute, or possibly over jealousy. Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo indicated that Tran may have been targeting his ex-wife.
“My understanding is that he may have come because his ex-wife was reveling, celebrating the Lunar New Year, and it sounded like there was a history of domestic violence, which is unfortunate,” Lo told NBC News’ Kate Snow.
Speaking to CNN, Tran’s ex-wife said he had never been violent toward her, but that he had a short fuse and was quick to anger if she missed a step while dancing. He reportedly filed for divorce in 2005 — and was approved the following year. According to a copy of their marriage license seen by CNN, Tran was an immigrant from China.
A man who was familiar with Tran from his time as an informal dance tutor at the studio where the killings occurred, described his reaction to the news to The New York Times.
“I was surprised,” Adam Hood, said. “But in the same token, I was not surprised. I was surprised, you know, this is such a horrible massacre, that someone would have done this. When I say I’m not surprised, because if I know him well enough, this would have happened sooner or later.”
A search of Tran’s home unearthed a .308 caliber rifle, hundreds of rounds of loose ammo, and materials that indicated Tran had been attempting to build homemade firearm suppressors.
The attack marred an important holiday
About 65 percent of residents in Monterey Park are Asian American, according to census data. The city of 60,000 has sometimes been called the “first suburban Chinatown” and since the 1960s has drawn immigrants from all over Asia.
On Saturday, tens of thousands gathered in the city for the start of what was supposed to be a two-day festival celebrating the Lunar New Year. But after the shooting, authorities decided to cancel Sunday’s event “out of an abundance of caution and in reverence for the victims,” Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese told the Los Angeles Times.
That the shooting took place on the eve of this major holiday has been particularly devastating. “Monterey Park should have had a night of joyful celebration of the Lunar New Year,” Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on Twitter. “Instead, they were the victims of a horrific and heartless act of gun violence.”
Another in a long list of mass shootings
Saturday’s attack is the deadliest since the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. California saw another horrific shooting just last week, when two men in Tulare County shot and killed six people — including a 10-month-old baby.
The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks gun violence in the U.S., has already recorded 33 mass shootings in 2023. The nonprofit research group defines a mass shooting as an event where at least four people are killed or injured. It counted 647 mass shootings last year.
