Worthy Christian News > US News > US Shooting Death Toll Rises To 11; Gunman Identified

US Shooting Death Toll Rises To 11; Gunman Identified

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MONTEREY PARK (Worthy News) – The death toll of a mass shooting in a popular ballroom dance studio in the U.S. state of California rose to 11 Monday, just hours after the suspected gunman was found dead and identified, investigators said.

Police told media that they found the body of  Huu Can Tran, 72, in a white van after a massive daylong search operation. He had a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was declared dead at the scene, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said.

The shootings, the deadliest in the U.S. since the attack in Uvalde, Texas, in May, occurred as thousands celebrated the Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, known for its large Asian population.

Monterey Park, about eight miles (13 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, is known for its large Asian population.

Witnesses recalled that a gunman with a machine gun – or a semi-automatic rifle fired multiple rounds at mostly Asian Americans in what they initially called a racially motivated attack.

Police cautioned it was “too early” to know the suspect’s motivation, though he apparently chose his targets carefully.

The suspect tried to carry out a second attack at a nearby family-run ballroom but was disarmed by its third-generation operator.

SAVING LIVES

Brandon Tsay, the third-generation operator of the family-run dance hall in Alhambra, was in the office off the lobby, watching the ballroom when he heard the front doors swing closed.

He then heard a strange clang that sounded like metallic objects hitting one another before turning around to see a semiautomatic assault pistol pointed at him.

“He was looking at me and looking around, not hiding that he was trying to do harm. His eyes were menacing,” recalled Tsay, 26, at his family’s San Marino.

Tsay struggled with the gunman and eventually disarmed him, saving countless lives and averting another tragedy. It was an act that officials roundly praised as heroic.

Yet many did not survive. Officials identified two of those killed at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio as My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63. “No one could get out,” a witness said.

The United States has been shocked by a series of mass shootings in recent months, fueling a debate on the many weapons in the nation

Sunday’s shooting was a “horrific act of gun violence,” California’s Governor Gavin Newsom stressed earlier as investigators looked into motives for the tragedy.