MONTEREY PARK: An 11th victim died on Monday from injuries suffered in a weekend shooting rampage at a Los Angeles-area dance hall, as investigators searched for a motive behind one of California's bloodiest outbursts of mass gun violence.
Police identified Huu Can Tran, 72 as the lone suspect in a massacre that unfolded Saturday night in the midst of a Lunar New Year celebration Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles. He drove to another dance hall where a second attack was thwarted, and later killed himself as police closed in to make an arrest hours after the shooting.
Authorities said 10 people were killed and 10 wounded when Tran opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a venue popular with older patrons of Asian descent. One of the victims hospitalized in critical condition died of his wounds on Monday, Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese told reporters.
All of the deceased were between the ages of 50 and 80.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said investigators recovered 42 shell casings from the studio and a large-capacity ammunition magazine.
He said the search of the suspect's mobile home in a gated senior-living community in the town of Hemet, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, turned up a rifle, various electronic devices and items "that lead us to believe the suspect was manufacturing homemade" weapons silencers.
Police also seized hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the dwelling, Luna said.
According to police, Tran barged into another dance hall about 20 minutes later in the neighboring community of Alhambra, where he was disarmed by an employee and fled that scene, triggering an overnight manhunt. Luna credited the owner of the dance hall with disarming the would-be shooter.
The search for the gunman ended on Sunday morning when the suspect shot himself as police officer surrounded his cargo van in a parking lot in Torrance, south of Los Angeles.
Authorities on Sunday said a motive for the shooting remained to be determined.
On Sunday, Luna said "everything is on the table" in terms of identifying the reasons for the shooting.
Officers in Hemet, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles, were assisting the county Sheriff's Department in a search of Tran's mobile home in a gated senior living community, said Alan Reyes, spokesperson for the Hemet Police Department.
Luna told a news briefing on Monday that Tran had a "limited" past criminal history, including a 1990 arrest for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Hemet police said in a statement on Monday that Tran had come to the department twice in early January alleging "past fraud, theft and poisoning allegations involving his family" dating back 10 to 20 years. Tran had said he would return with documentation regarding his claims but never did, the police statement said.
Tran had an active trucking license and had owned a company called Tran's Trucking Inc with a post office box address in Monterey Park, according to online records. He had lived in the Los Angeles area since at least the 1990s and moved to the mobile home in Hemet in 2020, address records showed. A neighbor in his gated community described him as "meek" in an interview Monday.
But Adam Hood, a longtime tenant of the alleged gunman at a property in the Los Angeles area, told Reuters he had known Tran to be an aggressive and suspicious person with few friends. Tran had liked ballroom dancing, largely his only social activity, Hood said.
Hood said Tran complained that people at the Star Ballroom studio were talking behind his back.
"He was a good dancer in my opinion," Hood said. "But he was distrustful of the people at the studio, angry and distrustful. I think he just had enough."
TRAGEDY AND A CHASE
Luna praised the "heroic" actions of Brandon Tsay, the man who operates the family-run Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio dance club, where the gunman apparently sought to carry out a second attack. The sheriff credited Tsay with single-handedly wrestling away a semi-automatic assault-style pistol from the suspect before the gunman could get off a shot.
"That moment, it was primal instinct," Tsay told the New York Times, saying that the gunman fled the scene after a 90-second struggle. "Something happened there. I don’t know what came over me."
About 12 hours later, police officers in Torrance, 20 miles southwest of Monterey Park, cornered a white cargo van that Tran was driving. As officers neared the van, they heard a single gun shot from inside as Tran killed himself.
Authorities have not yet released names of all the victims, pending notification of their families. The Los Angeles Coroner's Office said two women, My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63, were among the dead. ABC News identified one of the deceased as dance instructor Ming Wei Ma.
Luna said the pistol that Tran used was likely illegal in California, having a magazine whose capacity exceeded the state limit of 10 rounds.
The shooting took place during a two-day Chinese Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, which draws thousands of people from across Southern California.
As news about the shooting spread, some in the tight-knit community of Monterey Park initially feared it was a hate crime targeting Asians. The city of 60,000 people has for decades been a destination for immigrants from China. Around 65% of its residents are Asian, according to U.S. Census data. Residents describe it as a friendly community where such a tragedy was previously unthinkable.
At the entrance to the Star Ballroom dance studio on Monday, residents left flowers, fruit and candles to honor the dead.
Reuters
Tue Jan 24 2023

Police officers guard the area near the location of a shooting that took place during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, in Monterey Park, California, U.S. January 22, 2023. - REUTERS

Ramsay reveals hundreds of lucky cat statues stolen from new restaurant
Gordon Ramsay says about 477 Japanese cat models called maneki-neko were stolen from his Lucky Cat 22 Bishopsgate restaurant.

Zayn Rayyan case: Two child witnesses complete testimony today
So far, 20 prosecution witnesses, including the two children, have been called for this trial, according to the Deputy Public Prosecutor.

Macron says he will tell Trump not to be weak with Putin in Washington visit
Emmanuel Macron says showing any weakness to Russia's Vladimir Putin would make it harder to deal with China and Iran.

Israeli PM Netanyahu says Hamas will pay for not returning Shiri Bibas
Netanyahu accuse Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Shiri Bibas.

Trump pulls US out of key global climate assessment, sources say
The US is a co-chair along with Malaysia of a working group on climate mitigation, or ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Japan to court Tesla on Nissan investment, FT reports
The group hopes Tesla will invest strategically, believing it's interested in acquiring Nissan's US plants, the report says.

185 children linked to GISB handed over to families - Exco
The children have been handed over to their families on bond with conditions by the court.

IRS fires 6,000 employees as Trump slashes US government
The move will eliminate roughly 6% of the agency's workforce in the midst of the busy tax-filing season.

Elon Musk wields chainsaw at conservative gathering, a gift from Argentina's Milei
This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy, says Elon Musk.
![[OPINION] For never again the world must know more about the Khojaly genocide [OPINION] For never again the world must know more about the Khojaly genocide](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2025-02/41740112820_KhazarUniversity.jpg)
[OPINION] For never again the world must know more about the Khojaly genocide
For Azerbaijanis, the Khojaly genocide is more than a historical event - it is a collective trauma that shapes their identity and worldview.

Israeli military says body released by Hamas is not of a hostage
Two bodies were identified as infants, but a third, believed to be their mother, Shiri, didn't match any hostage and remains unidentified.

Key takeaways from Trump-Putin talks: Ukraine, energy, NATO, sanctions
Here's what is known so far about what was discussed.
![[COLUMNIST] Whose rights? Islam, eurocentrism and the limits of human rights [COLUMNIST] Whose rights? Islam, eurocentrism and the limits of human rights](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-09/41726025526_UnitedNations.jpg)
[COLUMNIST] Whose rights? Islam, eurocentrism and the limits of human rights
For as long as rights are understood on Occidental terms, problems would inevitably remain. What is needed is an appreciation of diversity.

Argentina court clears 3 accused in singer Liam Payne's death
The court upheld the pre-trial detention of a hotel employee and a restaurant waiter held since last month.

Spanish ex-soccer boss Rubiales sentenced to pay fine over kiss without consent
Court also acquits Luis Rubiales' three co-defendants accused of attempting to coerce Jenni Hermoso into saying the kiss was consensual.

King’s health significantly improved after treatment - PM
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says he had the opportunity to seek an audience with the King twice during his official visit to Bahrain.

Why Trump wants the US Department of Education shut down
The vast majority of US children attend the country's free public schools, which are a big employer and economic engine.

How did a jet flip upside down on a Toronto runway and everyone survive?
Here is what we know about this accident and similar crashes.

TIMELINE - Trump's remarks on plan to take over Gaza, displace Palestinians
The plan has been condemned globally, with Palestinians, Arab nations and rights experts saying it was tantamount to "ethnic cleansing."

'No to drugs' signboards mooted as condition for concert permit
Datuk Hussein Omar Khan says it was part of their recommendations as efforts to curb drug taking at entertainment events.