Man who disarmed Monterey Park shooter speaks out: 'Something came over me' - ABC News

The nighttime was winding down aft a Lunar Near Year solemnisation astatine the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio successful Alhambra, California, connected Saturday, erstwhile Brandon Tsay heard the beforehand doorway click adjacent down him.

"That's erstwhile I turned astir and saw that determination was an Asian antheral holding a gun. My archetypal thought was I was going to dice here, this is it," Tsay, 26, told ABC News' Robin Roberts during an interrogation Monday connected "Good Morning America."

Tsay, who helps tally the creation hallway with his family, said the gunman was "looking astir the room" arsenic if helium was "looking for targets -- radical to harm."

"He started prepping the limb and thing came implicit me," Tsay recalled. "I realized I needed to get the limb distant from him. I needed to instrumentality this weapon, disarm him oregon other everybody would person died."

"When I got the courage, I lunged astatine him with some my hands, grabbed the limb and we had a struggle," helium added. "We struggled into the lobby, trying to get this weapon distant from each other. He was hitting maine crossed the face, bashing the backmost of my head."

Brandon Tsay is seen successful surveillance video wrestling a weapon distant from Huu Can Tran, 72, who is alleged to person killed 10 radical successful adjacent Monterey Park, successful a creation hallway successful Alhambra, California, connected Jan. 21, 2023.

Lai Lai Ballroom

Tsay said helium utilized his elbows to abstracted the weapon from the fishy during the conflict until, finally, helium was capable to propulsion the limb distant and shove the antheral aside. Tsay said helium past pointed the weapon astatine the fishy and shouted: "Get the hellhole retired of here! I'll shoot! Get away! Go!"

"I thought helium would tally away, but helium was conscionable lasting determination contemplating whether to combat oregon to run," Tsay recalled. "I truly thought I would person to sprout him and helium came astatine me. This is erstwhile helium turned astir and walked retired the door, jogged backmost to his van. I instantly called constabulary with the weapon inactive successful my hand."

Tsay did not cognize it astatine the clip but would aboriginal larn that this aforesaid antheral -- identified by authorities arsenic 72-year-old Huu Can Tran -- had allegedly opened fire astatine different creation workplace successful adjacent Monterey Park astir 20 minutes earlier, sidesplitting astatine slightest 10 radical and wounding 10 others.

Brandon Tsay is seen successful surveillance video wrestling a weapon distant from Huu Can Tran, 72, who is alleged to person killed 10 radical successful adjacent Monterey Park, successful a creation hallway successful Alhambra, California, connected Jan. 21, 2023.

Lai Lai Ballroom

The mass shooting astatine Star Dance Studio successful a predominately Asian assemblage of Monterey Park occurred conscionable aft 10:20 p.m. section clip connected Saturday night, during what should person been the astir festive time of the twelvemonth for those of Asian descent. Tran allegedly fled the country successful a achromatic van and drove to Alhambra, wherever helium entered the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio earlier being disarmed, according to authorities.

On Sunday, aft a daylong manhunt, constabulary located Tran's conveyance on a roadworthy successful Torrance, astir 30 miles southwest of Monterey Park. As constabulary pulled down the van successful a marked patrol car, the conveyance entered a buying halfway parking lot. When officers exited their patrol car to attack the van, they heard 1 gunshot coming from wrong the vehicle. The officers recovered Tran dormant from a self-inflicted gunshot coiled wrong the van, which had a stolen licence plate, according to authorities.

Brandon Tsay is seen successful surveillance video wrestling a weapon distant from Huu Can Tran, 72, who is alleged to person killed 10 radical successful adjacent Monterey Park, successful a creation hallway successful Alhambra, California, connected Jan. 21, 2023.

Lai Lai Ballroom

The Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio's surveillance cameras captured the conflict betwixt Tran and Tsay. Tsay told ABC News that helium has bruising each implicit his assemblage from the incident, including crossed his chemoreceptor and the backmost of his head.

"I was shaking each night. I couldn't judge what happened," helium said. "A batch of radical person been telling maine however overmuch courageousness I had to face a concern similar this. But you cognize what courageousness is? Courage is not the lack of fear, but alternatively the quality to person adversity to fearfulness erstwhile fearful events hap specified arsenic this."

"In crises similar this, the radical request courage, particularly the victims, their friends, their families," helium added. "My bosom goes retired to everybody involved, particularly the radical successful Star Dance Studio and Monterey Park. I anticipation they tin find the courageousness and the spot to persevere."