A shooting at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, left 11 people dead and 10 others injured on Jan. 21.
The shooting took place during a Lunar New Year dance celebration. The 11 deceased, including five men and six women, were all between the ages of 57 and 76, according to a statement from the LA County Coroner Medical Examiner’s Office.
“There is a lot of fear and anxiety out there. People are fearful of this kind of situation where our joyous Lunar New Year celebration was turned utterly upside down into tragedy and fear,” California Representative Judy Chu said at a candlelight vigil for the victims on Jan. 23.
The primary suspect is Huu Can Tran, 72, who was found dead in a white cargo van as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told CNN. The suspect’s body was found following a standoff with police in Torrance, California, on Jan. 22.
“We do not have a motive yet,” Luna said. “We want to know as much as all of you, and we’re working very hard to attain that.”
Tran was once a regular patron and informal teacher at Star Ballroom Dance Studio, Tran’s ex-wife, who asked to remain anonymous, told CNN. As of Jan. 29, it is unclear if Tran had visited Star Ballroom in recent years.
Tran has also been linked to a separate event on Jan. 21, which occurred at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra. The armed suspect entered Lai Lai Ballroom as the Lunar New Year dance was concluding, according to the Los Angeles Times. In a surveillance video, a ticket office worker at the Alhambra dance studio can be seen successfully wrestling away the suspect’s gun.
The Alhambra incident occurred only 20 minutes after the Monterey Park shooting, according to the Los Angeles Times. As of Jan. 29, no casualties have been reported from Alhambra.
Authorities were able to use the recovered firearm to identify and track down the suspect the next day, an unnamed officer told CNN.
Brandon Tsay, a relative of the owners of Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, was the ticket office worker who disarmed the gunman.
Tsay was awarded a medal of courage by the City of Alhambra on Jan. 29, during the city’s official Lunar New Year celebration. “The carnage would have been so much worse had it not been for Brandon Tsay,” Chu said during the award ceremony.
According to CNN, President Joe Biden called Tsay on Jan. 22 with words of praise. “You are America, pal,” Biden told Tsay. “You are who we are. America’s never backed down, we’ve always stepped up, because of people like you.”
