The suspected gunman involved in the Lunar New Year shooting in Los Angeles has been confirmed dead by police.
After a SWAT operation by the Special Enforcement Bureau ended a standoff in Torrance, California, the SEB announced that the armed man at the wheel of the cargo van had fatally shot himself. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna had also previously cautioned that the Lunar New Year shooter was armed and dangerous. A vehicle of interest at the scene matched the description of the van involved in the standoff.
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Authorities identified the suspect at a Sunday evening press conference as Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old Asian male whose remains were found inside the vehicle.
This suspected shooter killed 10 people and wounded 10 others at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club. He then traveled to another dance hall in nearby Alhambra, where witnesses reported him entering the event space with a firearm. People on the scene wrestled the weapon from the man before he fled.
Luna explained at the Sunday presser that he could not yet say the exact ages of the victims, as some had yet to be identified, but gave a range, saying, “They’re not in their 20s or 30s. They seem to be probably, I would say, in their 50s, 60s, and maybe some even beyond that.”
It is the fifth mass shooting in the U.S. this month and the deadliest since 21 people were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, according to an Associated Press/USA Today database.
Torrance is about 30 miles away from Monterey Park. SEB stopped the van at the corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard. The celebration in Monterey Park is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California.
President Joe Biden offered his condolences in a statement on the shooting and issued a proclamation ordering the flags to fly at half-staff at the White House and other federal buildings until sunset on Thursday in honor of the victims.
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“While there is still much we don’t know about the motive in this senseless attack, we do know that many families are grieving tonight, or praying that their loved one will recover from their wounds,” Biden said in the statement.
“Even as we continue searching for answers about this attack, we know how deeply this attack has impacted the AAPI community. Monterey Park is home to one of the largest AAPI communities in America, many of whom were celebrating the Lunar New Year along with loved ones and friends this weekend,” he added.
