Authorities said the motive of the gunman behind the deadly shooting in Los Angeles remains unknown. The gunman killed 11 people before fatally shooting himself during the Lunar New Year celebrations over the weekend.
On Monday, authorities in California said the motive of the suspect, identified as 72-year-old Huu Canh Tran, who went on the rampage on Saturday in Monterey Park, was unclear. In a predominantly Asian-American area east of downtown Los Angeles, Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese told reporters that authorities were aware that the rampage may have been fueled by jealousy or relationship issues and that the possible motives were being looked into by investigators.
Wiese told reporters 10 people were killed and 10 others were wounded when Tran opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio before taking off. The 11th victim died from injuries on Monday after being hospitalized.
The coroner’s office said that from all the victims, six were women and five were men, aged in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member Hilda Solis told reporters during a news briefing that the shooting in Monterey Park was the deadliest mass shooting on record in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County Sherriff Robert Luna said there was also no immediate evidence that Tran was related to any of his victims.
Officials said 20 minutes after the attack, Tran stormed into the Lai Lai Ballroom & Dance Studio in the neighboring area of Alhambra but was thwarted by an employee before Tran could open fire. Tran was not seen again until Sunday when he was discovered in a white cargo van in Torrance, fatally shooting himself when the police surrounded his vehicle.
Two days after the massacre, another mass shooting in California took place close to the San Francisco area. Seven people were killed in an agricultural area of Half Moon Bay, and authorities have also yet to determine the motive of the latest shooting. Much like the previous incident, the victims were also of retirement age.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was visiting the families of the victims of the Monterey Park shooting upon being informed of the incident on Monday. The gunman in the latest shooting, 67-year-old Chunli Zhao, was taken into custody by authorities shortly after the shooting after he was discovered sitting in his vehicle that was parked outside the sheriff’s station.