What we know so far about the Monterey Park shooting
It’s still not clear if the suspect in a southern California mass shooting that left 10 people dead is still at large, or if law enforcement officials have located the man, and he is dead.
Officials have promised a press conference with additional updates at 4.30pm local time. Here’s what we know, and what we still don’t know, about once of the deadliest US mass shootings in recent months.
The shooting: A gunman opened fire around 10.20pm on Saturday night at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, California. Ten people, five men and five women, died at the scene, and at least 10 more were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries, officials said.
Twenty to 30 minutes later, a man with a gun entered another dance venue in nearby Alhambra, California, authorities said. People at the second ballroom wrestled the gun away from him, and the suspect fled. Authorities said they believed the two incidents are connected. They described the suspect as an Asian man in his 30s to 50s.
The context: Monterey Park and Alhambra are both majority-Asian American towns outside of Los Angeles. In 2017, Monterey Park was named as “one of the best places to live in America”. The city was the first on mainland US to have a majority of residents with Asian ancestry, as migrants from Taiwan, China, Japan and Vietnam settled in the community.
The motive: Officials said they were still investigating the motive behind the Saturday night shooting, including whether it was a hate crime or a deadly incident of domestic violence. The shooting happened not far from a popular lunar new year celebration in downtown Monterey Park. Further celebrations were cancelled there on Sunday, and lunar new year celebrations elsewhere in the US continued with heightened security.
The weapon: Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said at least one of the guns used was “not a high-powered assault rifle”. Both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources briefed on the incident, that a military-style rifle was used in the Monterey Park shooting. It’s not clear how many guns might have been used across what were potentially two separate incidents targeting two different dance halls.
The suspect: Law enforcement officials have released photos of a shooting suspect, an Asian American man, who was initially described as being in his 30s to 50s. Officials said they know his name, but are not releasing it. He was initially described as armed, dangerous, and at large.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous. Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv
The standoff in Torrance: Around midday on Sunday, law enforcement vehicles surrounded a white van in Torrance, California, which sheriff Robert Luna described as a “barricaded suspect situation” that they believed was related to the Monterey Park shooting. “Could it be our suspect? Possibly,” Luna said. “We’re looking at any and every possibility.” After an hours-long standoff, law enforcement officers finally entered the van, and local news reporters said there appeared to be a deceased body inside the opened vehicle. Multiple news outlets later reported that the driver of the vehicle had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement has yet to confirm the identity of the van driver, or if the driver was in fact the suspect in Saturday’s shooting.
Evening summary: Monterey Park shooter dead, motive under investigation
The shooter who killed 10 people at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, California on Saturday night was a 72-year-old Asian man whose motive for the attack is still under investigation, authorities said on Sunday evening.
The shooter himself is now dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after being pulled over by law enforcement officers in the nearby town of Torrance, California, on Sunday morning, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said.
Some key updates:
The names of the 10 victims killed in Monterey Park have not yet been released, but Luna said many of them were in their 50s, 60s, or older. It’s not yet clear when the names of the dead will be announced, or whether their next of kin have been notified: Luna said the coroner was still working to identify the victims.
Luna and local politicians hailed the heroism of two community members at a second dance venue in Alhambra, California, who they said managed to disarm the gunman when he appeared there on Saturday night after the Monterey Park shooting, likely saving many lives.
The guns used by the shooter are still under investigation. At least one, a semi-automatic assault pistol with a high-capacity magazine, initially appeared to be illegal in California. How the shooter obtained the weapons, and whether they were obtained legally or illegally, is still unclear.
Monterey Park was the 33rd mass shooting in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as any violent incident in which at least four people are shot and wounded, whether or not they are killed.
Asked about the country’s problem with gun violence, Luna noted that California has, in the American context, relatively strict gun control laws. “The status quo’s not working,” he said. “We need to re-examine what we’re doing and what may work better.”
At least one gun used by Monterey Park shooter may be illegal in California
One of the shooter’s weapons, recovered after community members at a second dance studio in a nearby town managed to disarm him, was described by sheriff Robert Luna as a magazine-fed semiautomatic assault pistol with a high capacity magazine attached.
While investigation into the shooter’s weapons is still ongoing, “I believe the weapon recovered at the Alhambra location is not legal in the state of California,” Luna said.
California, the first state in the nation to attempt to ban military-style “assault weapons,” prohibits certain kinds of semi-automatic handguns that accept or have larger ammunition magazines, as well as certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles.
Californa’s assault weapon ban was passed in 1989, after an attack on a school in Stockton, where five children died, most of them the children of Cambodian refugees.
With shooter reported dead, officials urge community members to feel safe again
“Feel safe,” Judy Chu, the US congresswoman who represents Monterey Park, urged community members at an evening press conference . “You are no longer in danger because this shooter is gone.”
“He is no longer a threat,” sheriff Robert Luna said.
US flag will be flown at half mast this week to honor Monterey Park victims
Joe Biden has announced that, as a “mark of respect for the victims” in Monterey Park, the US flag will be flown at half mast at the White House and all public buildings and grounds until sunset on 26 January.
Vicimts are still being identified, but many are in 50s, 60s, or older
The coroner’s office is “still in the process of identifying” the victims who were killed, sheriff Robert Luna said. He promised more information “as the days go on.”
The ages of the victims appear to be in their 50s, 60s and “maybe even some beyond there,” Luna said.
Multiple dance instructors who taught classes at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park told news outlets that the ballroom studio served a predominantly older, Asian American clientele. “There’s definitely going to be people in their 70s, 80s, people in their 90s,” instructor David DuVal told the Los Angeles Times.
“We are able to say that justice has been done…but we also know this is just the beginning,” Monterey Park mayor Henry Lo said at a evening press conference confirming the suspected shooter was found dead on Sunday morning.
“Our priority is to make sure those victims, their family members, are given the assistance they need to heal and get over their trauma,” Lo said, referencing what he expects will be “a long process of healing as a community.”
Two weapons identified so far, including a handgun with a high capacity magazine
The weapon recovered from the Alhambra location where the shooter was disarmed was described as magazine-fed semiautomatic assault pistol with high capacity magazine attached, Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Another firearm, found in the white van where the suspect was discovered this morning, was a handgun, he said.
Mass shooting suspect is dead, but ‘we still are not clear on the motive’
While the suspected shooter, a 72-year-old man, died this morning, law enforcement officials are still investigating the motive for the shooting.
Sheriff Robert Luna and local politicians praised the heroism of two community members who stopped the shooter and took away his gun when he appeared at second dance studio, in Alhambra, not long after opening fire at a first dance studio in Monterey Park.
“This could have been much worse,” Luna said.
“Feel safe,” Judy Chu, the US congresswoman who represents Monterey Park, urged community members. “You are no longer in danger because this shooter is gone.”
“What was the motive for this shooting?” Chu asked. “Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he get these guns? Was it through legal means or not? These questions will have to be answered in the future.”
Suspect in Monterey Park shooting is dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound
The suspect in a deadly mass shooting at a southern California dance studio on Saturday night died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday, Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said.
The suspect, who was driving a white van, was stopped by law enforcement in Torrance, California, around 10.30 am, on Sunday morning. Law enforcement officials heard one gunshot from within the van, Luna said at a press conference on Sunday evening.
Multiple Swat vehicles and other law enforcement cars surrounded the van for several hours on Sunday afternoon before officers entered the van, an operation that local TV news cameras broadcast live.
The suspect has been identified as Huu Can Tran, 72. There are no outstanding suspects, Luna said.
The sheriff said that evidence in the van was found related to the shooting.
Seven people are still hospitalized with wounds from the shooting, Luna said.
Despite shooting, some lunar new year celebrations continue in California
Across southern California, the OC Register reported, some lunar new year celebrations continued on Sunday, even as law enforcement authorities had not yet confirmed whether they had located the gunman who killed 10 people on Saturday night in a shooting near a downtown Monterey Park lunar new year festival.
Some Lunar New Year celebrations continue despite the Monterey Park shooting says @USC's prof @mayleeasia as a way to say “enough” to the recent spike in anti-Asian hate. "We are not going to let violence and hate dictate our lives and our identity.”https://t.co/bV8IhQoYpp
Biden statement: ‘We know how deeply this attack has impacted the AAPI community’
As local residents wait for a late afternoon update on whether the Monterey Park shooter is still at large, Joe Biden has released a statement offering condolences to all those affected by the attack, particularly the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
Jill and I are thinking of those killed and injured in last night’s deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park. While there is still much we don’t know about the motive in this senseless attack, we do know that many families are grieving tonight, or praying that their loved one will recover from their wounds. Even as we continue searching for answers about this attack, we know how deeply this attack has impacted the AAPI community. Monterey Park is home to one of the largest AAPI communities in America, many of whom were celebrating the Lunar New Year along with loved ones and friends this weekend.
ATF says they are tracing ownership of gun believed to have been used in Monterey Park
The Los Angeles branch of the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives tweeted this afternoon that it conducted an “urgent trace” on a firearm believed to be used in a Saturday night shooting that killed ten people in a majority Asian American community in Southern California.
Applying some urgency to the routine task of tracing the ownership of a gun used in a crime may be necessary for the ATF, a troubled federal agency mired for decades in the bitter battle over gun rights.
The federal agency that tracks firearms used in crimes is considered an enemy by many American gun rights advocates, and, as a result, it has been strategically hobbled and undermined for decades. The ATF still uses archaic systems, including piles of paper records, for tracking information about gun sales by licensed gun dealers.
This summer, with gun sales and shootings on the rise in recent years, and staffing down, it took the ATF an average of two weeks to conduct a routine trace for sale data on a gun that had been used in a crime, NBC News reported.
What we know so far about the Monterey Park shooting
It’s still not clear if the suspect in a southern California mass shooting that left 10 people dead is still at large, or if law enforcement officials have located the man, and he is dead.
Officials have promised a press conference with additional updates at 4.30pm local time. Here’s what we know, and what we still don’t know, about once of the deadliest US mass shootings in recent months.
The shooting: A gunman opened fire around 10.20pm on Saturday night at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, California. Ten people, five men and five women, died at the scene, and at least 10 more were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries, officials said.
Twenty to 30 minutes later, a man with a gun entered another dance venue in nearby Alhambra, California, authorities said. People at the second ballroom wrestled the gun away from him, and the suspect fled. Authorities said they believed the two incidents are connected. They described the suspect as an Asian man in his 30s to 50s.
The context: Monterey Park and Alhambra are both majority-Asian American towns outside of Los Angeles. In 2017, Monterey Park was named as “one of the best places to live in America”. The city was the first on mainland US to have a majority of residents with Asian ancestry, as migrants from Taiwan, China, Japan and Vietnam settled in the community.
The motive: Officials said they were still investigating the motive behind the Saturday night shooting, including whether it was a hate crime or a deadly incident of domestic violence. The shooting happened not far from a popular lunar new year celebration in downtown Monterey Park. Further celebrations were cancelled there on Sunday, and lunar new year celebrations elsewhere in the US continued with heightened security.
The weapon: Los Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna said at least one of the guns used was “not a high-powered assault rifle”. Both the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources briefed on the incident, that a military-style rifle was used in the Monterey Park shooting. It’s not clear how many guns might have been used across what were potentially two separate incidents targeting two different dance halls.
The suspect: Law enforcement officials have released photos of a shooting suspect, an Asian American man, who was initially described as being in his 30s to 50s. Officials said they know his name, but are not releasing it. He was initially described as armed, dangerous, and at large.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous. Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv
The standoff in Torrance: Around midday on Sunday, law enforcement vehicles surrounded a white van in Torrance, California, which sheriff Robert Luna described as a “barricaded suspect situation” that they believed was related to the Monterey Park shooting. “Could it be our suspect? Possibly,” Luna said. “We’re looking at any and every possibility.” After an hours-long standoff, law enforcement officers finally entered the van, and local news reporters said there appeared to be a deceased body inside the opened vehicle. Multiple news outlets later reported that the driver of the vehicle had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement has yet to confirm the identity of the van driver, or if the driver was in fact the suspect in Saturday’s shooting.
The press conference that everyone is expecting will now take place in Monterey Park at 4.30pm local time (7.30pm ET), officials in Torrance just said.
So clearly no official confirmation on anything relating to the identity or status of the gunman in the mass shooting.
Signs point to Torrance law enforcement’s forced entry into a white van there and the shooting in Monterey Park being connected, but there will be another wait for public details from the authorities.
There has been no further public mention from officials about a suspect still being at large. Again, we await confirmation of all latest details after the standoff in Torrance, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Police in Torrance, on the south-west outskirts of Los Angeles, and the LA county sheriff’s department will brief the media and public soon, it’s hoped. Anonymous law enforcement sources and much speculation swirl about the suspect in the mass shooting in Monterey Park east of LA on Saturday night.
Update: here in #Torrance we are waiting to be debriefed by officials. We’re told we’ll hear from the City of Torrance, and the LA County Sheriff’s department. @knxnewspic.twitter.com/8JWqV6f3ba
Gathered media wait, impatiently, as does the community where the shooting happened, about seven miles east of downtown LA.
Waiting for the press conference in Torrance. We we were told it would happen in 20 minutes, but that was 30 minutes ago. So we wait. pic.twitter.com/axXmGs0koL
The shooting happened in the middle of what had been unfolding as a joyous weekend of celebration of the lunar new year, marking the year of the rabbit in the Chinese lunar calendar. The latest American massacre threw a pall over festivities, which were canceled in Monterey Park on Sunday.
LA Times: driver of white van dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound
Earlier today, multiple law enforcement vehicles, including Swat vehicles, surrounded a white van in Torrance, California, in what the Los Angeles sheriff described as a “barricaded suspect situation”. After an hours-long standoff, law enforcement officers finally entered the van, and local news reporters said there appeared to be a deceased body inside the opened vehicle.
The Los Angeles Times is now reporting that “multiple law enforcement sources” said that “the driver had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound”.
While officials said they believe the white van is linked to the Monterey Park shooting, it’s still not clear if the driver of the van is, in fact, the shooting suspect police are searching for.
“Could it be our suspect? Possibly,” Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier this afternoon. “We’re looking at any and every possibility.”
Reporters at the scene also noted bullet holes in the driver’s side window of the van before the Swat team entered the vehicle. It’s not yet clear if law enforcement officers fired at the driver, or if the driver attempted to shoot at them.
“At least two bullet holes had been visible in the driver’s-side window in the moments prior to [the SWAT team’s] approach, and the driver appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Another local reporter on the scene in Torrance, Kristy Hutchings, said a law enforcement official told her that “the suspect in the white van shot and killed himself after being pulled over for a traffic stop this morning”.
BREAKING: Just confirmed with an anonymous source in law enforcement that the suspect in the white van shot and killed himself after being pulled over for a traffic stop this morning. The officers on site are waiting for the Sheriff’s dept to come take over the scene.
Monterey Park shooting comes less than a year after attack on Taiwanese church
Less than a year ago, a 68-year-old man opened fire at a gathering of elderly parishoners organized by a Taiwanese American church in southern California, leaving five people injured and a 52-year-old doctor dead.
Authorities said more people might have been killed if not for the heroism of John Cheng, 52, who tackled the gunman, and allowed others to restrain him. Cheng, who was killed in the 15 May attack, had brought his elderly mother to the gathering.
Authorities said the shooting was “politically motivated” and that the suspect, who had Taiwanese roots, was inspired by anti-Taiwanese hate and upset about tensions between China and Taiwan.
The 68-year-old gunman had chained and glued the church doors closed, and also brought bomb materials, officials said at the time.
‘We…never heard about a shooting in Monterey Park before.’
It’s not yet clear whether a body found in a white van in Torrance, California, is the suspect in a deadly shooting in Monterey Park, California.
Local community residents are still waiting for any official word on the motive for a shooting that left ten people dead, and that happened not far from a popular lunar new year celebration in a majority-Asian American town outside of Los Angeles.
The suspect is an Asian man in his 30s to 50s, and appeared to have been involved in a second incident in a nearby Alhambra, law enforcement officials said.
A local Monterey Park man, Bing Hao, 25, was walking with some friends near the crime scene on Sunday afternoon and stopped to talk briefly, saying he was at the new year festival on Saturday morning.
“I heard a rumor that this was about an employee fired from the ballroom and is getting his revenge,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t know if that is true or not, but it was during lunar new year which is a really important day for Asian people, and people died, and now the next event got cancelled.”
“We live near here and never heard about a shooting in Monterey Park [before]. I felt shock, Asian people usually don’t carry guns. It’s new years, maybe save the hate for a different time – I’m not gonna come out at night, I’m going to stay home,” he added.
