2023 Monterey Park shootings | |
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Part of mass shootings in the United States | |
Los Angeles County, California
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Location | Monterey Park, California, U.S. |
Coordinates | 34°03′43″N 118°07′25″W / 34.06194°N 118.12361°W |
Date | January 21, 2023 c. 10:22 p.m.[1] (PST, UTC-8) |
Target | People at Star Ballroom Dance Studio and Lai Lai Ballroom |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder, murder–suicide[2] |
Weapons |
|
Deaths | 12 (including the perpetrator) |
Injured | 9 |
Perpetrator | Huu Can Tran |
Defender | Brandon Tsay |
Motive | Unknown |
On January 21, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Monterey Park, California, United States. The gunman killed eleven people and injured nine others.[5] The shooting happened at about 10:22 p.m. PST (UTC-8) at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, after an all-day Lunar New Year Festival was held on a nearby street.[1][6] Shortly afterwards, the gunman drove north to Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra to continue his shooting spree but was confronted by staff and disarmed before fleeing by car. The perpetrator was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a standoff with police in Torrance the next day.[7][8][9] It is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Los Angeles County.[10]
Background
Monterey Park is in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County and lies about seven miles (11 km) east of downtown Los Angeles. About 65% of the residents are of Asian descent; in the 1990 census, it became the first city in the mainland United States with a majority of residents of Asian descent.[5][11] Tens of thousands of people had gathered nearby on January 21, Lunar New Year's Eve, for the start of the two-day festival,[5][12] one of the largest Lunar New Year's celebrations in Southern California.[7] The festival was scheduled to end at 9:00 p.m. that day and continue the next day. The event for Sunday was canceled.[13]
The Star Ballroom Dance Studio is a Chinese-owned dance studio in the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue, near the intersection of Garfield Avenue.[1][14] It was holding a Lunar New Year countdown dance party from 8:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.,[15] which was not part of the festival.[13] The Star Ballroom's dance parties and the studio generally, are popular with older Asian Americans.[16][17]
Events
Monterey Park shooting
Gunfire was reported at the Star Ballroom at 10:22 p.m. on January 21, 2023.[1][7][14] The gunman fled the scene. Monterey Park police responded within three minutes of the first 9-1-1 call, finding "individuals pouring out of the location screaming" when they arrived.[18] Ten people were pronounced dead at the scene.[6] Ten others were taken to local hospitals.[14][19] The gunman used a Cobray M-11/9,[20][21][22] a semi-automatic pistol variant of the MAC-11 with an extended high-capacity magazine.[23] The gun and the high-capacity magazine are illegal in California. According to the county sheriff Robert Luna, the weapon was purchased in Monterey Park in 1999 but not registered.[24] He also described the gunman as a male Asian wearing a black leather jacket, a black-and-white beanie, and glasses.[25]
Tran fired 42 rounds in the dance hall.[10] An unnamed witness to the shooting told the media that the gunman began "shooting everybody" in the ballroom and shooting some victims again while walking around.[26][27] The studio's owner and manager, Ming Wei Ma reportedly was the first to rush the shooter, but was killed.[28] One dancer, Yu Lan Kao, was killed shielding others from gunfire. Others may have done so as well.[29]
The police took about five hours to alert the general public that the shooter was at large, although information was sent to police scanners and other government agencies.[30][31] Scott Wiese, the city's new police chief (who started work two days before the shooting) said he did not wish to awaken the residents, who are predominantly Asian American, just because the police was "looking for a male Asian in Monterey Park". He also said that the police did not want to risk sharing the wrong information because it had about 40 witnesses, many of whom did not speak English.[24]
Alhambra incident
A second incident occurred three miles (4.8 km) away in Alhambra, approximately 17 minutes after the Monterey Park shooting. A gunman entered the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio on South Garfield Avenue. Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old computer programmer whose family owns the Lai Lai ballroom, confronted the gunman in the lobby, wrestled the gun away, and chased him out.[32][33] His actions were lauded as heroic.[32][33]
The gunman fled in a white cargo van.[34][35][36][37] He was later identified as the Monterey Park gunman.[37] The suspect was identified by the weapon seized at the Alhambra scene, which gave authorities his name and description.[38]
Gunman's suicide
Around 10:20 a.m.[39] on January 22, 2023, nearly 22 miles (35 km) away from the second attempted shooting site in Alhambra,[7] police pulled over a van matching the description of the one seen leaving the Alhambra scene at a parking lot in Torrance. The stop was made near the intersections of Sepulveda and Hawthorne boulevards.[5] The van's license plates appeared to be stolen. As officers approached the van, they heard a single gunshot coming from inside, retreated, and requested tactical units to respond.[40] During the standoff SWAT officers, both visually from their armored vehicles and via a drone-mounted camera, observed the man in the driver's seat slumped over the steering wheel of the van. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head[2] from a Norinco 7.62×25 mm handgun.[23][21][22]
He was identified as the gunman responsible for both the Monterey Park shooting and the Alhambra incident.[5][41]
Victims
Ten people, five men and five women, died at the scene – Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Hongying Jian, 62; Yu Lun Kao, 72; Lilan Li, 63; Ming Wei Ma, 72; My My Nhan, 65; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; Chia Ling Yau, 76; Wen Tau Yu, 64; and Xiujuan Yu, 57.[42][29] Ming Wei Ma was Star Ballroom's owner and manager, while three of the victims were citizens of Taiwan.[28][43][44] An eleventh victim, Diana Man Ling Tom, 70, died at the LAC+USC Medical Center the day after the attack.[45][46][47] Nine more people were injured in the shooting; seven of them remained hospitalized as of January 22, some in critical condition.[40]
Perpetrator
The gunman was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran (August 15, 1950 – January 22, 2023).[27][48] He was reportedly from China or Vietnam, according to different sources.[49][50][24] Tran became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1990 or 1991 and settled in the city of San Gabriel.[50][27] In 2013, he sold his San Gabriel home, which was a five-minute drive away from the Star Ballroom.[27] In 2020, Tran bought a double-wide trailer in a senior community at a mobile home park in Hemet,[5][51] a suburb about 85 miles (137 km) east of Los Angeles. He lived there at the time of the shooting.[18][27]
In the late-1990s, Tran met his wife-to-be at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where he taught informal dance lessons and was a regular patron; they were married in 2001. Four years later, Tran filed for a divorce, which was approved in 2006.[27] His ex-wife stated that he was never violent while around her but was "quick to anger".[52] He frequented both Star Ballroom and Lai Lai several years ago, sometimes volunteering as a dance instructor, but ended up clashing with the people there.[53] According to the sheriff, Tran had not been to Star Ballroom in at least five years and did not appear to be targeting specific victims.[24] According to the police department in Hemet, where Tran lived, he visited the station there on January 7 and January 9 alleging that his family was poisoning him and trying to steal money from him. He was asked to return with evidence but never did.[53]
Tran was previously arrested by San Gabriel Police for unlawful possession of a firearm from a possible robbery at a liquor store in November 1990, but he did not have a substantial criminal history.[10] Tran had a history of multiple 911 hangups and domestic disturbance incidents according to records from the San Gabriel Police Department dated as early as 1992.[54][55]
After the shooting, authorities searched Tran's home pursuant to a search warrant.[48][18] Law enforcement found a Savage Arms .308 caliber bolt-action rifle,[48][18][21][22] hundreds of rounds of ammunition,[48][10] and items suggesting that Tran was manufacturing suppressors.[48][10][18]
At 72 years of age, Tran became the second-oldest mass killer in U.S. history, behind 73-year-old Carey Hal Dyess who, on June 2, 2011, shot and killed five people, including his wife, before killing himself near Yuma, Arizona.[56][57]
Reactions
During the manhunt for the gunman, President Joe Biden instructed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide full support to the local authorities.[5] He later offered condolences and ordered flags at the White House to be flown at half-staff.[58] Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the shooting "absolutely devastating", and Governor Gavin Newsom said that he was "monitoring the situation closely".[59] In the days after the shooting, Newsom visited Tsay to thank him for his heroism,[60] and attended a meeting between the victims in hospital.[61][62]
The second day of Monterey Park's Lunar New Year festival was canceled.[6] Security preparations were stepped up ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations in New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles.[63]
Moments of silence across the country were held at Lunar New Year festivities as well as sporting events involving teams from Los Angeles.[64][65]
It became the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Los Angeles County, exceeding the death toll of a massacre in Covina in 2008.[66][67] The Monterey Park shooting was the second of three mass shootings in California in about a week, preceded by a house shooting in Goshen and followed by another shooting in Half Moon Bay, the three shootings killing a combined total of 24 people.[68][69] It was also the fifth mass killing in the United States since the beginning of 2023.[18][70]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 Gonzales, Ruby; Holshouser, Emily (January 22, 2023). "10 killed in Monterey Park shooting as Lunar New Year is celebrated". Pasadena Star-News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 "Live updates: Suspect in shooting at dance hall near Los Angeles is dead, sheriff says". NBC News. January 23, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ White, Jeremy; Lai, K.K. Rebecca (January 26, 2023). "What We Know About the Gun Used in the Monterey Park Shooting". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ↑ Haworth, Jon (January 26, 2023). "Monterey Park shooting suspect had no known connection to victims, police say". ABC News. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Winton, Richard; Park, Jeong; Jany, Libor; Lin, Summer; Ellis, Summer (January 22, 2023). "10 people killed, 10 injured in mass shooting at Monterey Park dance studio". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 3 Allen, Keith; Burnside, Tina; Yan, Holly (January 22, 2023). "10 people were killed and 10 more are hospitalized in mass shooting in Monterey Park, California". CNN. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Dalton, Andrew (January 22, 2023). "Police: Gunman on the loose after killing 10 near LA". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Gunman kills 10, wounds 10 after Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park". KTLA. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Reid, Tim (January 23, 2023). "California police seek motive behind shooting at Asian dance hall". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Taxin, Amy; Dazio, Stefanie; Tang, Terry; Melley, Brian (January 23, 2023). "Sheriff: Dance Hall Shooter Had Gun Conviction, Extra Ammo". Associated Press News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ Lakhani, Nina (January 22, 2023). "Ten dead in shooting after lunar new year festival near Los Angeles". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Moloney, Marita (January 22, 2023). "Monterey Park shooting: 10 dead in incident after Lunar New Year festival". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 Horti, Samuel (January 22, 2023). "Festival distances itself from shooting". BBC. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 3 Kim, Juliana (January 22, 2023). "10 people have been killed in a shooting near LA after a Lunar New Year festival". NPR. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "A celebration turned into a nightmare for one couple on the dance floor". The New York Times. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ Tang, Terry; Stengle, Jamie (January 24, 2023). "'Last dance': Those slain in California shooting remembered". AP News. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ "A Dreamy Place of Refuge Turns Into Another Spasm of American Violence". The New York Times. January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reis Thebault & Marc Fisher, Inside the Monterey Park massacre: A night of dancing, then gunshots, Washington Post (January 23, 2023).
- ↑ Kiszla, Cameron (May 24, 2022). "Gunman kills 10, wounds 10 more near Lunar New Year fest in Monterey Park, California". Ktla.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Brownlee, Chip; Mascia, Jennifer (January 23, 2023). "The Monterey Park Shooter Had an 'Assault Pistol.' What Does That Mean?". The Trace. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Monterey Park mass shooter hadn't been to studio for 5 years; motive still sought, sheriff says". Orange County Register. January 26, 2023. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Sheriff Robert Luna Gives an Update on the Monterey Park Shooting from LASD - Los Angeles County Sheriffs Dept Information Bureau (SIB)". Nixle. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- 1 2 Jonathan Allen, Explainer: What guns were used to attack a Lunar New Year party in California? Archived January 24, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, Reuters (January 23, 2023).
- 1 2 3 4 "Sheriff: Gunman didn't know Monterey Park dance hall victims". AP NEWS. January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ↑ "10 killed in Monterey Park mass shooting, standoff underway with the gunman in Torrance, police say". KABC-TV. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Palombo, Ross (January 22, 2023). "Monterey Park mass shooting: Witness describes the chaotic scene inside Star Ballroom Dance Studio". KCAL-TV. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Winter, Jeff; Tolan, Casey; Glover, Scott (January 22, 2023). "Gunman had been a regular patron at dance hall he attacked, according to people who knew him". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- 1 2 "Monterey Park mass shooting: Witnesses identify one of the men killed". CBS Los Angeles. January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- 1 2 Griffin, Allie; Hernandez, Marjorie (January 24, 2023). "All 11 Monterey Park mass shooting victims have been ID'ed". New York Post. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ "Cops took 5 hours to warn dance hall shooter was on the run". Associated Press. January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ Winton, Richard; Fry, Hannah; Mejia, Brittny; Goldberg, Noah (January 24, 2023). "Why police took hours to warn public that Monterey Park mass shooter was on the loose". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- 1 2 Nathan Solis & Alexandra E. Petri, 'I was gonna die here': How a man disarmed the Monterey Park shooter, Los Angeles Times (January 23, 2023).
- 1 2 "Monterey Park shooting: Hero who disarmed gunman had never seen a real gun". BBC News. January 23, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ "Monterey Park mass shooting: 2nd possible scene in Alhambra cleared after authorities investigate possible connection". CBS News. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "2nd scene in Alhambra cleared after police investigate possible connection to Monterey Park mass shooting". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Sheriff says authorities investigating second incident that may be linked to Monterey Park shooting". CNN. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- 1 2 "'They saved lives': Police chief praises heroes who disarmed suspect at a second location". CNN. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Salahieh, Nouran; Winter, Jeffrey; Tolan, Casey; Glover, Scott (January 23, 2023). "What we know about the suspect in the Monterey Park massacre". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ reports, Staff and wire. "Hemet man named as Monterey Park shooter as death toll rises to 11; search for motive continues". The Desert Sun. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- 1 2 Honderich, Holly; Peter, Laurence (January 22, 2023). "Monterey Park shooting: Suspect found dead after dance studio attack". BBC News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Motive remains a mystery after a suspected gunman in Lunar New Year mass shooting found dead". The Los Angeles Times. January 22, 2023. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ "Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner". Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. January 24, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ↑ Harter, Clara (January 24, 2023). "Monterey Park shooting victim Ming Wei Ma was 'the heart' of Star Ballroom Dance Studio". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ 3 Taiwanese citizens confirmed dead in Monterey Park shooting, Focus Taiwan, 2023-01-25
- ↑ ("Honoring the lives lost in the Monterey Park mass shooting". The Los Angeles Times. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.)
- ↑ Kim, Victoria (January 24, 2023). "All of the victims of the Monterey Park shooting have now been identified". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ Mejia, Brittny (January 23, 2023). "Death toll rises to 11 in Monterey". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Levenson, Eric; Yan, Holly; Chan, Stella (January 23, 2023). "Investigators find a rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammo at the home of Monterey Park mass shooter". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ Nouran Salahieh, Jeffrey Winter, Casey Tolan, Ralph Ellis, and Scott Glover, What we know about the suspect in the Monterey Park massacre Archived January 23, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, CNN (January 23, 2023).
- 1 2 Tim Arango, Here’s what we know about the suspected gunman Archived January 24, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, New York Times (January 23, 2023).
- ↑ Cain, Josh; Lykke, Hanna (January 22, 2023). "72-year-old ID'd in Monterey Park mass shooting, and killed himself in Torrance, authorities say". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Samson, Carl (January 23, 2023). "Ex-wife of Monterey Park mass shooting suspect speaks out, says he was 'quick to anger'". www.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- 1 2 Arango, Tim; Cowan, Jill (January 23, 2023). "Authorities Ask Why Gunman Attacked California Ballroom He Once Enjoyed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
- ↑ "Monterey Park shooter voiced paranoid threats to police years before opening fire, records show". www.latimes.com. January 30, 2023. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
- ↑ "Monterey Park Gunman's Police Record Includes Concealed Weapon Arrest In November 1990, A Disturbing Incident A Day After Christmas In 1992, And A Shocking Shotgun Shelling Incident In January 1993". Lamag - Culture, Food, Fashion, News & Los Angeles. January 31, 2023. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ↑ "Monterey Park suspect is the oldest mass shooter in recent history". www.latimes.com. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ "California mass shooting suspect is oldest in US recorded history, researchers say". www.usatoday.com. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ Forrest, Jack; Pellish, Aaron (January 22, 2023). "Biden offers condolences to victims of California mass shooting, acknowledges the impact on AAPI community". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Alonso, Melissa (January 22, 2023). "California Gov. Newsom says he's monitoring the Monterey Park shooting". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ DuBose, Josh; Von Quednow, Cindy; Wolfe, Chris (January 23, 2023). "26-year-old man who disarmed Monterey Park gunman meets with Gov. Newsom". KTLA Morning News. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ ""Tragedy upon tragedy": Gov Newsom reacts to Half Moon Bay shootings that killed 7". CBS Sacramento. January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ↑ Newsom, Gavin [@GavinNewsom] (January 24, 2023). "At the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting. This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy upon tragedy" (Tweet). Retrieved January 24, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ↑ Elassar, Alaa (January 22, 2023). "Cities strengthen security ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations after Monterey Park massacre leaves Asian American community on edge". CNN. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ↑ Yurrita, Regina (January 22, 2023). "Moment of silence ahead of Lunar New Year festivities in San Diego". CBS8. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ Youngmisuk, Ohm (January 25, 2023). "Lakers, Clips pay tribute to Monterey Park victims". ESPN. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ Navarro, Heather (January 22, 2023). "Suspect in Monterey Park Lunar New Year Celebration Shooting Identified as 72-Year-Old Man". KNBC. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ Lin, Summer; Winton, Richard; Ellis, Rebecca; Park, Jeong; Jany, Libor; Lin II, Rong-Gong; Wick, Julia; Smith, Hayley; Truong, Debbie; Toohey, Gracey; Newberry, Laura (January 22, 2023). "Authorities Identify 72-Year-Old Man As Suspected Gunman in Lunar New Year Mass Shooting". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
- ↑ Wick, Julia; Hernandez, Savador; Park, Jeong; Vives, Ruben (January 24, 2023). "California reeling from back-to-back shootings that killed 24: 'Too much bloodshed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ Miolene, Elissa; Nickerson, Scooty (January 24, 2023). "California tops deadliest month of mass shootings in at least a decade". The Mercury News. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ "Monterey Park shooting: 11 killed at Lunar New Year celebration, suspect dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound". CBS News. January 24, 2023.