The suspect, who has been identified as a 72-year-old man, was found dead. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police found the body in a white van. The gunman’s motive is not yet known.
The gunman opened fire at patrons at a dance studio on Saturday night. He then proceeded to a second studio in Alhambra close by but was disarmed by one of the attendees.
Ten people were killed during the Monterey Park shooting, and a further ten were injured. According to authorities, seven people are still recovering in the hospital.
Monterey Park shooting suspect found dead
The manhunt for the Monterey Park gunman concluded on Sunday when police officers found the body of the shooter in a van he used to flee from the site of the mass shooting on Saturday night. The gunman’s death was caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The dead gunman was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran by Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. The authorities are not yet sure what motivated the perpetrator to open fire on the dance studio attendees amid Chinese New Year celebrations.
Tran’s van was discovered by the authorities on Sunday. A SWAT team surrounded the vehicle before the van was breach handed and cleared. The armed officers found Tran’s body slumped over the steering wheel.
“I still have questions in my mind, which is: What was the motive for this shooter? Did he have a mental illness? Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he get these guns and was it through legal means or not?” said Judy Chu, a member of Congress and former three-time mayor of Monterey Park.
“If there is one thing I know, it is that Monterey Park is resilient,” Chu commented in another statement. “Our community is strong, and we will get through this terrible event together.”
More details emerge about the mass shooting
At 10:22 pm local time, Tran entered Star Dance Studio and opened fire on people gathered there. According to the authorities, the firearm used was a semi-automatic pistol with a large-capacity magazine, although further confirmation is being awaited.
At the Star Dance Studio, ten people were killed and another ten people were injured, requiring hospitalization. Police Chief Scott Wiese described it as a “scene of carnage.”
The gunman then traveled a short distance to an Alhambra dance hall, arriving at about 10:50 pm. A second mass shooting would have occurred here if it were not for the intervention of Brandon Tsay, who grappled Tran and managed to disarm him.
Tsay, who works as a coder and operator for the family-run dance hall, told the press that he was working at the premises during a party held for Chinese New Year when the gunman entered the building. “That’s when I turned around and saw that there was an Asian man holding a gun,” Tsay said.
“He didn’t seem like he was here for any money, [and] he wasn’t here to rob us,” Tsay said. “When he was looking around the room it seemed like he was looking for targets—people to harm,” Tsay continued.
“Something came over me—I realized, I needed to get the weapon away from him,” he revealed.
Tsay was able to disarm Tran after a physical altercation. “When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle. We struggled into the lobby, trying to get this gun away from each other,” Tsay said. “He was hitting me across the face. Bashing the back of my head. I was trying to use my elbows to separate the gun away from him, create some distance.”
After disarming Tran, Tsay said that the gunman left the dance studio heading for his van. Tsay then called the police.
The manhunt for the gunman lasted for approximately twelve hours until Tran was found dead in his van by police at about 1 pm local time.
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