Suspected Monterey Park mass shooter identified, found dead

On Sunday evening (Jan. 22), Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna confirmed that the suspected Monterey Park mass shooter had been identified. The individual was revealed to be 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, who was seen leaving the incident in a white van that was later located by authorities in a shopping center parking lot in Torrence. As Luna claimed, the suspect then took his own life as officers approached:

“When officers exited their patrol vehicle to contact the occupant, they heard one gunshot coming from within the van,” he said. “Officers retreated and requested several tactical teams to respond. Two armored vehicles responded and were able to restrict the van’s movement.”

He continued: “Our sheriffs SWAT team approached and cleared the van and determined the suspect sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators conducted a search of the vehicle and determined the male inside the van was the mass shooting suspect.”

As previously reported by REVOLT, gunfire erupted inside Monterey Park’s Star Ballroom Dance Studio. Five women and five men were pronounced dead at the scene. Many more shuttled to nearby hospitals with conditions ranging from stable to critical.

According to Luna, the suspect entered Alhambra’s Lai Lai Ballroom about 30 minutes after the aforementioned shooting carrying a semi-automatic firearm, which was wrestled away by the building’s occupants:

“I can tell you that the suspect walked in there probably with the intent to kill more people, and two brave community members decided they were going to jump into action and disarm him.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom also paid a visit to the predominately Asian community where the tragedy occurred and condemned the violence on Twitter: “Spent time in Monterey Park today meeting with leaders and those impacted by this terrible tragedy. The strength of this community is incredible. No other country in the world is terrorized by this constant stream of gun violence. We need real gun reform at a national level.”