Everything we know about the Deadly Monterey Park, California Shooting
A Los Angeles police SWAT team breached a van in Torrance, California on Sunday that is linked to the gunman who killed 10 people at a Monterey Park dance studio. (Kenny Eliason/Unsplash).
On January 21, 2023, a man walked into a dance studio during a lunar new year celebration in Monterey Park, California and opened fire. Here is what we know.
Article by Tommy Lynch, Junior Correspondent
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - As of now, there are 11 fatalities, with an additional nine people wounded. It is the deadliest shooting in the United States since the Uvalde, Texas school shooting in May of 2022. The victims were older men and women, with the youngest victim being 57 and the oldest being 76.
The shooter was identified as Huu Can Tran, a 72 year old man who was once a frequent visitor at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where the shooting took place. He is the oldest mass shooter in the United States in over 50 years. About 20 minutes after the shooting, Tran walked into the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, California, planning on another attack before being disarmed by 26 year old Brandon Tsay.
In Lai Lai Ballroom security camera footage, you can see Tsay, one of the ballroom operators, struggling against Tran before taking his weapon and telling him to leave.
Tran was found in a parking lot in Torrance, California, about 30 miles away from the scene. He was killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the police could apprehend him.
Tran had made himself known to the police before. He had gone to the police twice in the past month, making allegations that his family had tried to steal from him and poison him. He was also said to be distrustful of the workers at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio.
The weapon used was a magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol with an extended magazine.
Due to the fact that Tran could not be apprehended, it is difficult to declare a motive. One theory suggests he had a troubled relationship with a woman who had connections to both establishments. Another theory suggests he was angry at the workers of the dance studios.
After obtaining a search warrant, the Police searched Tran’s house, where a 308 caliber rifle was found, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that certain items found suggest that he was building makeshift suppressors for his weapons.