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What to know about the mass shooting in Monterey Park
- Ten people were killed and at least 10 others were wounded, police said Sunday.
- The suspect was identified as Huu Can Tran, 72, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
- The suspect was found dead in a van in Torrance after a traffic stop led to a standoff, Luna said.
- Authorities found evidence in the van linking the suspect to both the Monterey Park shooting and another incident in the nearby city of Alhambra, Luna said.
7 of 10 people injured in the mass shooting remain hospitalized
Seven of 10 injured people who survived Saturday night's mass shooting at a Monterey Park, California, dance hall remained at hospitals Sunday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
The surviving victims were not identified, and individual conditions for them was unavailable. Authorities initially said some of those survivors were in critical condition, while others had been stabilized.
"We're giving thanks to the Monterey Park Fire Department for their lifesaving measures," Luna said at a news conference Sunday night. "I was informed before coming out here we still have seven people, seven victims who are hospitalized. And I'm sure that the work of our firefighters and police officers contributed to saving at least those lives."
A spokesperson for Dignity Health Southern California Division said its facilities in the area, which include California Hospital Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles, received two patients, one of whom was discharged and the other stabilized.
Authorities said a man opened fire at 10:22 p.m. Saturday at Star Ballroom Dance amid Lunar New Year celebrations. The suspect, Huu Can Tran, 72, was the subject of a late-morning traffic stop Sunday as he drove a white van in the city of Torrance, 28 miles away, they said.
When SWAT team members breached the vehicle, he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Luna said. His motive was not yet known, the sheriff said.
Biden orders flags at half-staff
President Joe Biden on Sunday night ordered U.S. flags at federal public buildings and military locations to be flown at half-staff in the wake of the weekend mass shooting in Southern California.
Biden's order will remain in effect through sunset Thursday.
In a proclamation, Biden said those who were killed and injured were victims of "senseless acts of violence."
Ten people died and 10 others were wounded in the Saturday night shooting at a dance hall in Monterey Park, Calif. It took place as many in the San Gabriel Valley, home to more than a half-million people of Asian heritage, were celebrating Lunar New Year.
Worried loved ones frantically wait for news
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — Concerned friends and family streamed into the Langley Senior Citizen Center throughout much of the day, anxiously waiting to hear news of loved ones who might have been among the 10 people killed or 10 injured at Lunar New Year celebrations.
"I tried to reach her, but I didn't get any response," Monterey Park resident Vivian King said of a friend she last heard from earlier in the weekend.
"That's why I'm so worried," Kind said. "We usually talk on WeChat, but I can't reach her."
Juan Pablo Pinzon, a tourist from Colombia, said his cousin had been out with friends in the area Saturday night and had not responded to texts and calls since.
"It's difficult not knowing what's going on," he said in Spanish. "Hopefully, we'll hear something soon."
Lenora Hall said she and her husband were relieved when they confirmed their friend was not among the victims. The friend was a regular at Star Dance Studio but had skipped the new year's celebrations.
"We are so relieved," Hall said, adding that she was grateful for the emotional support offered at the senior center Sunday. "It was helpful just to talk about it — my husband and I still haven't been able to process what happened last night."
Biden offers federal support to Monterey Park
President Joe Biden on Sunday offered the federal government's support to the people of Monterey Park.
The president said he directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide federal support to state and local authorities who responded to the shooting and continue to investigate.
"I want to assure the community of Monterey Park and the broader area that we will support you in every way we can," Biden said in a statement.
The president expressed sympathy for the families of the victims.
"Jill and I are thinking of those killed and injured in last night’s deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park," Biden said.
Victims thought to be in their 50s and older, sheriff says
The people killed in the shooting at a Monterey Park dance hall were thought to be in their 50s and older, Luna said.
He said the victims, whose names have not been released, appear to be in their 50s and 60s and maybe older.
Luna said officials were in the process of identifying the victims.
Shooting suspect identified as 72-year-old man who died of self-inflicted gunshot wound, sheriff says
The man suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting in Monterey Park was identified Sunday afternoon, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
The man, Huu Can Tran, 72, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a white van in Torrance as officers closed in, Luna said.
When law enforcement searched the van they recovered "several pieces of evidence" that linked the suspect to both the Monterey Park scene and a second scene in neighboring Alhambra, Luna said. A handgun was also found in the van, he said.
Luna said two community members disarmed the suspect at a dance hall in Alhambra. He described the community members as heroes and said they saved lives.
He said the weapon recovered at the Alhambra dance hall was a "semi-automatic assault pistol" with an extended large-capacity magazine attached.
Officials continue to investigate the motive.
"We want to know how something like this, something this awful, can happen," Luna said.
Man in white van, a possible suspect in mass shooting, is dead
A man inside a white cargo van in Torrance, who was described as "possibly" being a suspect in the Monterey Park mass shooting, was found dead Sunday, two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies had surrounded the vehicle for more than an hour before they eventually broke a window. An aerial feed from NBC Los Angeles showed law enforcement opening the van doors and entering the vehicle minutes later.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier Sunday that he could not confirm whether the man was the gunman his agency was looking for. The white van matched the description of the vehicle involved in an incident in nearby Alhambra.
Patrons of a dance hall in adjacent Alhambra wrestled a firearm away from a man who walked inside about 20 minutes after the shooting in Monterey Park. Luna said he believed the two incidents were connected but did not rule out any other possibilities.
Dignity Health Southern California division received two Monterey Park shooting victims
Dignity Health's Southern California division received two Monterey Park shooting victims, said Christina Zicklin, a spokesperson.
"One has been discharged, and the other is in stable condition," Zicklin said.
The medical center shared no other information about the victims because of HIPAA privacy laws.
SWAT operation on white van in Torrance finished, authorities say
The operation that SWAT agents and members of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Bureau were carrying out on a white van in the city of Torrance, about 30 miles southwest of Monterey Park, is complete, authorities said just after 1:30 p.m. PT Sunday, a little over two hours after officers first surrounded the van.
"Neighborhood safe," the Special Enforcement Bureau tweeted along with images from what appears to be a local news helicopter, showing sheriff's vehicles and officials surrounding the white van and entering it.
Authorities said Sunday morning they were looking for a white van that fled Alhambra, where they believed an incident connected to the mass shooting occurred, in which a gunman entered a dance hall and people there wrestled his firearm away. The gunman fled.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters Sunday afternoon that a person was barricaded in the van police were surrounding in Torrance but did not confirm whether it was the suspect.
Alhambra officials release statement on Monterey Park shooting
Alhambra officials released a statement on the Monterey Park shooting early Sunday evening.
"The City of Alhambra, the Alhambra Police Department, and the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce extend our support to the Monterey Park community in the wake of the tragic events that occurred on the night of January 21st," the statement read. "We send our thoughts and prayers to the victims."
Officials also acknowledged the shooting that occurred in the city after the Monterey Park shooting.
"We also acknowledge those who stepped in here in Alhambra to disarm an individual threatening our own community. As always, we send our deep appreciation to the first responders those who rushed in to help with this horrific event and continue to be present for our community."
"We feel the pain many of our residents are experiencing, and we will continue to work to support the whole community."