Ten dead and ten were injured on Saturday night (January 22) in Monterey Park, California, following a mass shooting during a Lunar New Year’s Eve event, according to local authorities.
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The shooting occurred at 10:22PM at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The gunman erupted into gunfire inside the ballroom filled with festivalgoers. The celebration in Monterey Park is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California. This mass shooting, the deadliest in the nation since Uvalde
The wounded were taken to hospitals with conditions ranging from stable to critical. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna commended civilians who disarmed the shooter during a press conference on Sunday (January 22). According to Luna, five women and five men died at the scene and the wounded victims were transported to local hospitals, their conditions ranging from stable to critical.
Following the shooting, the two days of festivities were planned but officials canceled Sunday’s events following the shooting. Other Lunar New Year events, including one at the USC Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena and another at the Citadel Outlets, were also canceled.
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A suspect was identified as Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old man whose body was found inside a cargo van with self-inflected gunshot wounds following a standoff with police in Torrance, California, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a Sunday evening news conference.
Authorities say Tran also tried, but failed, to target a second dance hall later in the evening. Asian American public figures would send their prayers and condolences on social media to those affected by the mass shooting upon the breaking news.
On Sunday evening, President Biden ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings until sunset Thursday as “a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence,” per a White House statement.
