10 dead in shooting incident during Chinese New Year celebrations in California

News, US January 23, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

A gunman killed at least 10 people while several were injured during the Lunar New Year celebrations in the U.S. on January 22, 2023. The incident took place at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in the town of Torrance, which lies southwest of Monterey Park in California.

A 72-year-old suspect entered the ballroom dance venue and opened fire. The shooting occurred during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration as the area was filled with people attending the festival.

The venue was decorated with red lanterns and huge banners that welcomed the guests stating “Happy Year of the Rabbit” at Monterey Park’s famous Lunar New Year festivities. Thousands of American-Asian community members had gathered from all over the state to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

“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 Governor Gavin Newsom said.

Monterey Park is around 11 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles. About two-thirds of its residents are Asian. It is known for its many Chinese restaurants and groceries. It was the first in-person celebration of the Lunar New Year since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

*^{Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna shared a post on his Twitter about the suspect of the Chinese New Year celebration shooting. (Image Credit: Twitter/@LACoSheriff)}*

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the 72-year-old suspect as Huu Can Tran. He used a high-capacity magazine pistol to shoot up a ballroom dance venue that was at the time filled with the old patrons of Monterey Park. Many bystanders mistook the gunshots for some new year fireworks, which allowed the suspect to flee the scene.

The gunman tried to carry out another shooting at a separate club just minutes after the first one, but authorities said two bystanders wrestled the man’s weapon away from him before any shots could be fired, however, the killer fled that scene.

The sheriff said the pistol Tran used appeared to be illegal in California, where state laws ban any magazine holding more than 10 rounds. Investigators did not yet know a motive, although gun violence is frequent in the United States.

*^{The suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the police approached his van. (Image Credit: Twitter/Skynews)}*

12 hours after carrying out the deadly shooting, Tran killed himself when approached by police. The sheriff said that Tran turned the handgun on himself after the police approached a white van he was driving in Torrance, about 34 kilometers from the site of the shooting.

The police officers surrounded the van with tactical vehicles and bomb squad trucks to apprehend the killer, as they approached the vehicle, they heard a single gunshot and found the suspect dead in the driving seat upon reaching the van.

U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the killings in a written statement and said he had directed his Homeland Security adviser to mobilize federal support to local authorities. The attack in Monterey Park was the deadliest since May 2022, when a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas.