On January 21, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in Monterey Park, California, United States. The gunman killed eleven people and injured nine others. 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. 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. It is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of Los Angeles County.
Background
Monterey Park is in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County and lies about 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. Tens of thousands of people had gathered nearby on January 21, Lunar New Year's Eve, for the start of the two-day festival, one of the largest Lunar New Year's celebrations in Southern California. The festival was scheduled to end at 9:00 p.m. that day and continue the next day. The event for Sunday was canceled.
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. It was holding a Lunar New Year countdown dance party from 8:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., which was not part of the festival. The Star Ballroom's dance parties and the studio generally, are popular with older Asian Americans.
Events
Monterey Park shooting
Gunfire was reported at the Star Ballroom at 10:22 p.m. on January 21, 2023. 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. Ten people were pronounced dead at the scene. Ten others were taken to local hospitals. The gunman used a Cobray M-11/9, a semi-automatic pistol variant of the MAC-11 with an extended high-capacity magazine. 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. He also described the gunman as a male Asian wearing a black leather jacket, a black-and-white beanie, and glasses.
Tran fired 42 rounds in the dance hall. 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. The studio's owner and manager, Ming Wei Ma reportedly was the first to rush the shooter, but was killed. One dancer, Yu Lan Kao, was killed shielding others from gunfire. Others may have done so as well.
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. 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.
Alhambra incident
A second incident occurred 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. His actions were lauded as heroic.
The gunman fled in a white cargo van. He was later identified as the Monterey Park gunman. The suspect was identified by the weapon seized at the Alhambra scene, which gave authorities his name and description.