Police: Monterey Park shooting suspect found dead
The suspect in Saturday night's mass shooting at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, died on Sunday morning of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced Sunday evening.
Luna said that at around 10:20 a.m., police officers in Torrance, a city about 30 miles away from Monterey Park, attempted to pull over a white cargo van possibly linked to the shooting. The driver pulled into a shopping center, and as the officers approached the vehicle, they heard a gunshot. After a SWAT team cleared the van, police found the suspect slumped over, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Evidence found inside the vehicle connected the suspect — identified by Luna as Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old Asian man — to the Monterey Park shooting and another incident in nearby Alhambra.
There are "no outstanding suspects" from the mass shooting, Luna said, adding that investigators are working on determining the motive "behind this extremely tragic event."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The shooting took place at the Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, a Los Angeles suburb with a large Asian population. Ten people were shot and killed and 10 others were wounded; Luna said seven of the victims remain hospitalized. Families of the victims are still being notified, Luna said, and it appears the deceased are "in their 50s, 60s, and maybe even some beyond there."
The suspect entered the studio around 10:20 p.m., about an hour after a Lunar New Year festival that drew tens of thousands of people to Monterey Park ended. About 20 minutes later, the gunman walked into the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, where "some individuals wrestled the firearm from him" and he fled, Luna said. No one there was injured.
A reporter asked Luna about gun violence, and the sheriff responded, "Gun violence needs to stop. There's too much of it. ... I think all of us need to take some ownership there. We really need to go back and look at what we do. California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, yet look at what we had today. Let's look across our nation, see what works and what doesn't. I can tell you this — the status quo's not working. We need to re-examine what we're doing and what may work better, and I hope this tragedy doesn't go on a long list of many others that we don't even talk about until the next one comes up."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How much of a blow is ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question Action by Hague court damages Israel's narrative that Gaza conflict is a war between 'good and evil'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
UK gynaecological care crisis: why thousands of women are left in pain
The Explainer Waiting times have tripled over the past decade thanks to lack of prioritisation or funding for women's health
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'The Hum': the real-life noise behind The Listeners
In The Spotlight Can some of us also hear the disturbing sound that plagues characters in the hit TV show – and where is it coming from?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published