The hunt for a gunman who killed 10 people at a ballroom dance club during Lunar New Year celebrations ended Sunday when authorities found him dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the van in which he fled after a second shooting was thwarted.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the man as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran and said no other suspects were at large. Speaking at an evening news conference, Luna said the motive for the attack remained unclear. Ten people were also wounded, seven of whom were still in the hospital.
Luna did not have the exact ages of the victims but said they all appeared to be over 50.
The sheriff added that the suspect was carrying what he described as a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, and a second handgun was discovered in the van where Tran was found dead.
‘Could have been much worse’:Monterey Park gunman disarmed by ‘heroes’ at second dance studio, sheriff says
What happened in Monterey Park shooting
The shooting took place Saturday night at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian American community.
Officers arrived within three minutes of receiving the call, Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said. Officers found carnage inside the club and people trying to flee through all the doors.
“When they came into the parking lot, it was chaos,” Wiese said.
About 20 to 30 minutes after the shooting at Star Ballroom, an Asian man with a gun entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra, Luna said.
Patrons at Lai Lai wrestled a gun from the attacker, Luna said, adding later that the firearm was a “magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol.’’ Another handgun was discovered in the van, he said.
Luna said authorities began looking for a white van after witnesses reported seeing the suspect flee from Alhambra in such a vehicle.
In addition to the 10 victims who were fatally shot, 10 people were hospitalized as a result of the assault at the Monterey Park venue, some of them in critical condition.
Seven were still in the hospital Sunday night, Luna said.
Monterey Park shooting suspect
Authorities had released few details about Huu Can Tran late Sunday evening.
Luna said 72-year-old shooter’s white van was spotted in Torrance, California, about 22 miles from the site of Saturday night’s attack at a Monterey Park dance studio.
