Captain of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Andrew Meyer briefing the media in Monterey Park, Calif., on Sunday. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Ten people were killed and 10 others were wounded in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, in the mostly Asian-American city of Monterey Park, California, east of Los Angeles on Saturday night on Lunar New Year’s Eve, local authorities said.
Newest: Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the suspect at a news conference Sunday night as Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old man whose body he said was found in a van in Torrance He suffered gunshot wounds after a standoff with police. , California. The police are investigating the motive of the crime.
- Tran was the sole suspect in the Star Ballroom Dance Studio shooting, which was followed shortly after by a second incident in the nearby city of Alhambra in which two civilians disarmed the suspect, which ultimately resulted in no injuries, Luna said.
- It’s unclear how many guns were used in the shooting, but law enforcement seized a semi-automatic handgun and found another in the van where Tran’s body was found.
big picture: The Monterey Park shooting happened at 10:22 p.m. Saturday in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Star Ballroom dance studio. Andrew Meyer told reporters Sunday.
- Luna said five women and five men died at the scene, and the injured victims were taken to local hospitals in a stable to critical condition. Seven people were still hospitalized Sunday night, Luna reported.
- Policemen posted photos Earlier Sunday, law enforcement investigating a separate incident in the Alhambra said the shooter was an Asian man they described as “armed and dangerous.”
- Luna credited civilians who disarmed suspects at Alhambra’s Le Lai Ballroom and Studio for saving lives.
What are we looking at: Meyer said it was too early to say whether the suspected shooter knew any of the victims or if the attack was targeted.
- The names of the shooting victims were not immediately released, but Luna said they appeared to be in their 50s or older.
- Luna said he believed a “magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol” recovered from the Alhambra scene “is not legal here in California.”
Game status: President Biden ordered flags to be lowered at half-mast Sunday night at the White House and other federal buildings until sunset Thursday as a “show of respect for victims of senseless violence,” according to a White House statement.
- In a statement earlier Sunday night, Biden said he had directed his homeland security advisers to “mobilize the full federal support of local and state authorities as they continue to respond to and investigate this shooting.”
enlarge: The Associated Press pointed out that Monterey Park hosted a two-day Lunar New Year celebration this weekend, one of the largest in Southern California.
- The shooting took place in the city center of about 60,000 people, with streets lined with red lanterns, according to the Associated Press
- Sunday’s celebration was canceled “out of an abundance of caution and out of respect for the victims,” Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Weiss told reporters.
Zoom out: Cities across the country have stepped up security measures and increased police patrols to celebrate the Lunar New Year in the wake of the mass shooting, CNN reported.
By numbers: The Monterey Park tragedy was the 23rd mass shooting in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot dead, excluding the shooter.
What are they saying: “I want to assure the Monterey Park community and the wider region that we will support you in any way we can,” Biden said. “Even as we continue to find answers about this attack, we know the impact this attack had on the AAPI community How deep.”
Rep. Judy Chu The (D-California Democrat) told a news conference Sunday night that the local community was “afraid they shouldn’t be going to any events because there was an active shooter,” but they could feel safe now.
- “It’s horrific that something like this is happening at a time when so many are celebrating in the AAPI community and the global Asian community,” she said.
mayor of los angeles Karen Bass tweets“Families should celebrate the holiday in peace – mass shootings and gun violence are a plague in our communities.”
mayor of monterey park Henry Rowe offered his condolences to the shooting victims and their families at a press conference on Sunday, saying, “It’s important that we are there for them and provide them with the services and support they need to deal with the coming weeks. The recovery period, months, if not years.”
Vice President Kamala Harris Speaking at an event on Sunday, saying at a cultural celebration that “another community has been torn apart by senseless gun violence,” she paid tribute to those affected by the latest tragedy, adding that she was “for Many of those lives were “grieving” changed forever. “
Stop hating on AAPI issued statement On Sunday, he called the shooting “unspeakably devastating.”
“After a day of celebration, we wake up from a nightmare… our community has faced so much tragedy and trauma over the past few years. One of the most important days for Asian Americans, where Asian American families gather and celebrate, is sending shockwaves through our community.”
— Stop AAPI Hate Statement
deeper… In photos: Monterey Park honors victims of mass shooting
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with more details.