Around ten people have been shot and killed, and ten others have been injured and taken to the local hospitals in an attempt to save their lives. A Lunar New Year mass shooting has taken place east of Los Angeles on Saturday, putting innocent people’s lives in danger.
The incident occurred following a Lunar New Year celebration at a dance club on Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park. Several stores on the street were closed in honor of the Lunar New Year celebration, and thousands of people collected at the club to celebrate the two-day event.
The police have been trying to catch the suspect of the Lunar New Year mass shooting and update the people on their latest findings. Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department described the scene of the mass shooting when the police arrived, saying that people were “pouring out of the location screaming” at 10:30 pm.
The authorities have shared that a man opened fire at 10:22 pm Saturday at Star Ballroom Dance and escaped from the crime scene. This has led to all the celebrations planned for Sunday being canceled as people pray for the deceased and hope that the survivors are all healthy.
The police are still trying to figure out why the suspect came armed at a party and tried to kill so many people. Robert Luna, the Los Angeles County Sheriff on this case, said:
“We don’t know if this is specifically a hate crime defined by law, but who walks into a dance hall and guns down 20 people?”
The Suspect of the Lunar New Year Mass Shooting
The suspect in the latest mass shooting has been caught. Huu Can Tran, 72, was caught in a white van in the city of Torrance during a late morning traffic stop on Sunday. However, when the SWAT team members breached the vehicle, Huu Can Tran had already killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Before the suspect was caught, his images taken from the surveillance camera’s footage had been released by Luna along with the following message:
“On Saturday, January 21, 2023, at 10:22 PM, the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect, and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000.”
According to the picture, the suspect of the Lunar New Year mass shooting is an Asian male wearing glasses, a dark jacket, and a dark beanie hat with white stripes.
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Is the incident in Alhambra and the Monterey Park mass shooting related?
The police are looking into another similar incident in the neighboring city of Alhambra. This incident also occurred at a dance venue just 20 minutes after the massacre in Monterey Park on Saturday.
According to the witnesses at the second dance venue, the shooter was an Asian man who entered holding a gun, but the patrons were quick to react and grabbed the gun from the Asian man. So, no one was shot in Alhambra, and the suspect with the gun ran away.
The Victims and Their Background
While the police are not sharing the victims’ names or personal details, a memorial has been organized for anyone who wants to pay their respect and mourn at the City Hall. This is also where the authorities provide reporters with the latest updates on the suspect and the Lunar New Year mass shooting.
Besides this, it has been shared that four of the ten victims are being treated at the LAC+USC Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center. This information was shared by the CEO of the hospital, Jorge Orozco.
Recently, Luna shared that 7 out of the ten people injured at the Lunar New Year mass shooting were still admitted to hospitals receiving treatment. The particular condition of these victims was not shared.
The City where Lunar New Year Mass Shooting Happened
About 11km away from Downtown Los Angeles, the city where the mass shooting took place, is the ideal destination for immigrants from China. In fact, almost 65% of the residents of this city are Asian and have lived together in peace for decades. Anyone visiting here will find many Chinese restaurants and grocery stores.
Chester Chong, chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, describes the city as a quiet and peaceful place where everyone knows each other and is always willing to help each other out.
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But everyone today at Monterey Park is shocked and scared because of the Lunar New Year mass shooting. They are looking at the several blocks sealed off with police tape and wondering whether this incident was a hate crime.
Mass Shootings in the US similar to the Lunar New Year mass shooting
This latest incidence of violence is the deadliest since May 2022, when a gunman shot 19 students and two teachers in broad daylight in a school in Uvalde, Texas. According to the Gun Violence Archive website, mass shootings are becoming more and more common in the US, with 647 shootings with four or more victims recorded in 2022.
Related: 14 students and 1 teacher died in a Texas Elementary School Shooting
Moreover, the FBI confirmed that, in 2021, there were 61 “active shooter” incidents. This is an increase of 52% when compared with 2020. It is also the highest number of “active shooters” ever recorded. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines an “active shooter” as anyone armed and engaged in killing or trying to shoot people in a public space randomly. The department also shared that almost 1 in every 5 “active shooter” incidents was a mass shooting in 2021.
