In a tragic incident, a mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park on Saturday night left 10 people dead and 10 others injured. The perpetrator, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, a resident of Hemet, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Torrance parking lot. The motive for the shooting is currently unknown, but authorities have said that Tran had previously reported to Hemet police that his family was trying to poison him.
The shooting occurred at around 10:20 p.m. on Saturday at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on West Garvey Avenue, on the Lunar New Year’s Eve. After the shooting, Tran attempted to enter another dance studio in Alhambra, but was disarmed by community members and fled the scene. About 20 minutes after the shooting in Monterey Park, Tran walked into Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in nearby Alhambra, officials said. “The suspect walked in there, probably with the intent to kill two more people,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “But two community members disarmed him, took possession of his weapon, and the suspect ran away.”
At 10:20 a.m. Sunday, police found the white cargo van that was seen leaving the scene of the shooting, Luna said. When officers left their patrol vehicle to make contact with the occupant, they heard one gunshot come from the van. At 1 p.m., a SWAT team determined that the suspect had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The man inside the van was Tran, the mass shooting suspect, authorities said.
During the search of the van, several pieces of evidence were found, linking the suspect to both locations. A handgun was found inside the van, which had stolen license plates, authorities said. “I can confirm that there are no outstanding suspects,” Luna said. The weapon taken by community members in Alhambra was a magazine-fed semiautomatic assault pistol, with an extended magazine attached, according to authorities.
The shooting has left the community struggling to make sense of the violence and authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the tragic incident.
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