10 dead, 10 wounded in Monterey Park, California mass shooting

International

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARTSAKHPRESS. A 72-year-old man found dead after a standoff with police has been confirmed as the person suspected of carrying out a deadly mass shooting in the US city of Monterey Park, California on Saturday night, CNN reported citing local police.

The man is suspected of opening fire at a dance studio, killing 10 people and injuring 10 more as the city’s large Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year weekend.

The shooting happened at 10:22 p.m. local time (1:22 a.m. ET) at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio near a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park. Five men and five women were killed, and at least 10 others were injured. Seven of the wounded remain hospitalized.

Huu Can Tran, 72, was identified as the suspect by Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. Tran was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday afternoon inside a cargo van after a standoff with police in Torrance, California. He had once been a regular presence at the dance studio, even meeting his ex-wife there, three people who knew him told CNN.

Tran is also believed to be the gunman disarmed by a group of people at a dance studio in Alhambra, California, shortly after the mass shooting in nearby Monterey Park. Evidence found in the cargo van linked Tran to both the Alhambra and Monterey Park scenes, according to Luna, who said there are “no outstanding suspects.”

Police and investigators are now working to determine the motive behind the mass shooting, according to Luna, who promised detectives would look at “every possibility.”

US President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the victims following the mass shooting and ordered flags to fly at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings.

As of Sunday night, there have now been at least 36 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive.


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