Monterey Park Massacre: Horrifying moment Huu Can Tran opened fire at Lunar New Year celebration
ALHAMBRA, CALIFORNIA: A gunman shot and killed 10 people at a ballroom dance hall at Star Dance Studio near Los Angeles during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration late on Saturday, January 21, 2023. He then fled the scene and later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when he was approached by police on Sunday, January 22, authorities informed. Out of the 10 deceased, five were males and five were females.
The shooting suspect was later identified as a 72-year-old Asian man named Huu Can Tran. The question as to what his motive still remains unclear. "We still are not clear on a motive," County Sheriff Robert Luna said at an early evening news conference on Sunday.
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Monterey Massacre: Cops believe Huu Can Tran hit Alhambra after Monterey Park shooting
Inside the Monterey Park mass shooting
According to Daily Mail, Wong Wei, a community member who lives near the scene of the crime, had four friends who were at the studio on January 21, including his sister. Wei said that one of his friends was injured and was lying on the ground with blood on her face. Wei was reportedly told that the shooter possessed a “long” gun and appeared to be firing the shots erratically. The “boss” of the Star Dance Studio, referred to as Ma, had also been shot and was on the floor. “She said, ‘Certainly, he was dead. He wasn’t moving,’” Wei said.
Seung Won Choi, who owns a seafood barbecue restaurant across from where the mass shooting took place, said three people came running into his restaurant and told him to lock the door.
Winn Liaw, 57, who lives about two blocks from the scene of the mass shooting, said that she was in bed shortly before 11 pm on the night of the shooting when she heard the gunfire. She assumed they were firecrackers as a part of a Lunar New Year celebration until she heard helicopters starting to circle around the neighborhood. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen in my neighborhood,” she said. She said that she thought living in a mostly Asian community would protect her from violence. “It’s starting to get worse and worse,” she added.
Another neighbor, who wished to be identified as John, said that he heard four or five gunshots. Then he heard police cruisers “smashing” down the street. He went down to the scene of the shooting and saw one person being put on a stretcher and another person having a bandage on their arm.
Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said the first law enforcement responders on the scene of the crime were “some of my youngest officers." "When they came into the parking lot, it was chaos. There were wounded people. There were people trying to flee out all the doors,” Wiese said. They entered the building within a few minutes of arriving and came across a scene of carnage “that none of them had been prepared for," he added. Authorities are working to identify the victims of the mass shooting. Many victims were reportedly in their 50s or 60s or "beyond," Sheriff Luna said.