On Sunday, a 72-year-old gunman committed suicide when approached by police, about 12 hours after carrying out a Lunar New Year massacre at a dance club that killed ten people and injured ten more.
The gunman attempted another shooting at a different club just minutes after the first one on Saturday night, but two bystanders wrestled the man’s weapon away from him before any shots could be fired, according to authorities. He ran away from the scene.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the suspect as Huu Can Tran, a septuagenarian he said used a high-capacity magazine pistol to shoot up a ballroom dance venue popular with older patrons in Monterey Park, about 7 miles (11 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.
Investigators did not yet know a motive, although gun violence is frequent in the United States. Luna did not identify any of the victims but said the five men and five women appeared to be in their 50s, 60s, and beyond. The sheriff said the pistol Tran used appeared to be illegal in California, where state laws ban any magazine holding more than 10 rounds.
“We want to know, we want to know how something this awful can happen,” Luna told reporters.
After police say Tran carried out the shooting in Monterey Park at about 10 p.m. PST Saturday (0600 GMT on Sunday), he was confronted by bystanders at a second dance club in the neighboring city of Alhambra about 20 minutes later, Luna said.
“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,” Luna said.
According to the sheriff, Tran pulled a handgun on himself as police approached a white van he was driving in Torrance, about 20 miles (34 kilometres) from the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park. Officers approached the van and heard a single gunshot, then fell back and requested a SWAT team.
Seven of the ten injured people remained hospitalized Sunday night, with at least one in critical condition.
The shooting took place near the site of a two-day Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, during which many downtown streets are closed and thousands of people from throughout Southern California attend.
