10 killed in shooting near Los Angeles after Lunar New Year festival ...

23 Jan 2023

The latest on the California mass shooting investigation
Authorities provide an update on their investigation into the shooting that killed 10 people in Monterey Park, Calif., on Saturday night.

The man suspected of killing 10 people at a Los Angeles-area dance club fatally shot himself in a van as officers closed in, a police official said. 

This is a breaking news update. A previous version of this story can be found below.

U.S. law enforcement officials swarmed and entered a white van Sunday afternoon that officials suspect was driven by a gunman who opened fire on a Southern California ballroom dance studio, killing 10 people and wounding 10 more.

Police surrounded the van with tactical vehicles and bomb squad trucks for hours before going in. A person's body appeared to be slumped over the wheel, but authorities did not immediately identify the person in the van.

Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna previously released photos of an Asian man who was believed to be the suspect, but he did not release the man's name.

The manhunt came after a gunman killed 10 people at a ballroom dance studio late Saturday amid Lunar New Year celebrations in the predominantly Asian American community of Monterey Park, Calif. He likely tried and failed to target a second dance hall, authorities said.

The van was found in Torrance, Calif., another community home to many Asian Americans, about 35 kilometres from the second location.

The suspect in the attacks is pictured in a police photograph wearing a hat.

This combination image created using photos provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shows a male suspect allegedly involved in a shooting on Saturday in Monterey Park, Calif. A gunman killed 10 people at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park and then may have tried, but failed, to target a second dance hall, authorities said Sunday. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department via The Associated Press)

The shooting sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities in the Los Angeles area and cast a shadow over Lunar New Year festivities around the country. Other cities sent extra officers to watch over the celebrations.

Police also looking at incident in nearby city

Luna said Saturday's shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park left five women and five men dead and wounded another 10 people.

Another police official said people were "pouring out of the location screaming" when officers arrived in the heart of downtown Monterey Park around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He said officers then went into the ballroom and found victims as firefighters treated the wounded.

Then 20 to 30 minutes later, a man with a gun entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra.

Police stand outside investigating a shooting.

Police officers stand outside a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., on Sunday after a mass shooting took place inside the previous night. (Jae C. Hong/The Associated Press)

The suspect in both cases was described as an Asian male. He entered the Alhambra club with a gun, and people wrestled the weapon away from him before he fled, Luna said. Investigators are interested in a white cargo van that was seen in the area, he added.

The sheriff declined to say what type of gun was recovered in Alhambra. He said investigators believe the gun used in Monterey Park was not an assault rifle.

Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people that sits at the eastern edge of Los Angeles. About two-thirds of the residents are Asian American.

The celebration in the city is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California. Two days of festivities were planned but officials cancelled Sunday's events following the shooting.

A white van is surrounded by heavily armed police officers.

A van is surrounded by SWAT officers in Torrance Calif., on Sunday. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)

The dance studio in downtown Monterey Park is just a few blocks from city hall on its main thoroughfare of Garvey Avenue, which is dotted with strip malls that are full of small businesses whose signs are in both English and Chinese. Cantonese and Mandarin are both widely spoken, Chinese holidays are celebrated, and Chinese films are screened in the city.

Wynn Liaw, 57, who lives about two blocks from the Monterey Park studio, said she was shocked that such a crime would happen, especially during New Year's celebrations. "Chinese people, they consider Chinese New Year very, very special" — a time when "you don't do anything that will bring bad luck the entire year."

The tragedy marked not just the fifth mass killing in the U.S. since the start of the year but also is the deadliest since May 24, 2022 — when 21 people were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S. The latest violence comes two months after five people were killed at a Colorado Springs nightclub.

Gunman appeared to fire indiscriminately: witnesses

Seung Won Choi, who owns the Clam House seafood barbecue restaurant across the street from where the shooting happened, told The Los Angeles Times that three people rushed into his business and told him to lock the door.

The people said to Choi that there was a shooter with a gun who had multiple rounds of ammunition on him.

A police official in a green jacket speaks about the investigation.

Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna takes questions from the media outside the Civic Center in Monterey Park, Calif., on Sunday. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)

Wong Wei, who lives nearby, told The Los Angeles Times that his friend was in a bathroom at the dance club when the shooting started. When she came out, he said, she saw a gunman and three bodies.

The friend then fled to Wei's home at around 11 p.m., he said, adding that his friends told him that the shooter appeared to fire indiscriminately with a long gun.

"Monterey Park should have had a night of joyful celebration of the Lunar New Year. Instead, they were the victims of a horrific and heartless act of gun violence," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent condolences to the victims, saying his "heart breaks for the people of Monterey Park, California – whose Lunar New Year celebrations were violently attacked and whose lives have been forever changed."

My heart breaks for the people of Monterey Park, California – whose Lunar New Year celebrations were violently attacked and whose lives have been forever changed. I’m sending my condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and I’m keeping the injured in my thoughts. <a href="https://t.co/vt1nB0sfXq">https://t.co/vt1nB0sfXq</a>

&mdash;@JustinTrudeau
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