Monterey Park, police search for motive after mass shooting - NBC News

The gunman down the deadly creation hallway shooting successful the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park that near 10 radical dormant and astatine slightest 10 much wounded whitethorn person been targeting his ex-wife connected the Lunar New Year, the California city's politician said Monday.

Huu Can Tran, the 72-year-old suspected shooter, burst into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio connected Saturday and opened occurrence connected a festive assemblage earlier fleeing, constabulary said.

“My knowing is that helium whitethorn person travel due to the fact that his ex-wife was reveling, celebrating the Lunar New Year, and it sounded similar determination was a past of home violence, which is unfortunate,” Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo told NBC News’ Kate Snow.

Tran filed for divorcement successful 2005 successful Los Angeles County, records show. NBC News has reached retired to the idiosyncratic believed to beryllium the shooter’s ex-wife for comment.

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Tran died immoderate 12 hours aft the massacre of a self-inflicted gunshot coiled wrong a achromatic van arsenic a SWAT squad closed successful connected him, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday.

“The unimaginable happened successful our assemblage past evening," Lo said successful a connection Sunday, calling the deadly shooting a "horrible tragedy."

"We recognize our assemblage is looking for answers," helium said, promising to update residents connected the investigation.

Officers adjacent into the model of a van believed to person a assemblage successful the driver's spot successful Torrance, Calif., connected Sunday. Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images

Meanwhile, arsenic the mostly-Asian assemblage braced for a question of funerals, the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office released the names of 2 of the victims: My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63. It was not instantly wide if they knew the gunman.

At 72, Tran did not acceptable the property illustration of a wide shooter. The median property implicit the past six decades is 32, according to information compiled by The Violence Project, which is simply a nonprofit probe halfway funded by the National Institute of Justice.

Some 30 minutes aft Tran opened occurrence successful the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, helium turned up astatine different creation workplace successful the adjacent municipality of Alhambra, constabulary said. There, Tran was stripped of what constabulary described arsenic a “semi-automatic battle pistol,” before helium could harm anybody, by a subordinate of the household that operates the venue.

"When helium was looking astir the room, it seemed similar helium was looking for targets, radical to harm,” Brandon Tsay, 26, said of the shooter in an interrogation Monday with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Tran was capable to get away, constabulary said. And astir a twelve hours aft the bloodshed successful Monterey Park, constabulary tracked Tran's achromatic van to a car parkland 30 miles distant successful the suburb of Torrance wherever the fishy killed himself.

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Several pieces of grounds linking Tran to the carnage were recovered wrong the van, Luna said. A handgun was besides recovered successful the van, helium added.

Early on, constabulary raised the anticipation that the massacre whitethorn person been a hatred crime.

“We don’t cognize if this is specifically a hatred transgression defined by law, but who walks into a creation hallway and guns down 20 people?” Luna said earlier Sunday “The statement we person present is of a antheral Asian. Does that matter? I don’t know. I tin archer you that everything’s connected the table

Investigators adjacent the country of the shooting successful Monterey Park.Eric Thayer / Getty Images

A assets halfway was established astatine Monterey Park’s Langley Senior Center, helium said, adding that intelligence wellness resources were disposable for "anyone who needs support."

Families and friends gathered astatine the halfway done overmuch of Sunday, waiting to perceive quality of loved ones who they feared mightiness person been among the radical killed oregon injured.

“I tried to scope her, but I didn’t get immoderate response,” Monterey Park nonmigratory Vivian King said of a person she past heard from earlier successful the weekend.

“It’s hard not knowing what’s going on,” said Juan Pablo Pinzon, a tourer from Colombia, who said his relative had been retired with friends successful the country Saturday nighttime and had not responded to texts and calls. “Hopefully, we’ll perceive thing soon.”