Monterey Park Shooter Fired 42 Rounds, Had Past Gun Arrest

MONTEREY PARK, CA — The Monterey Park shooter fired 42 rounds into the crowd of dancers and had a previous gun-related arrest, police said Monday as details emerged about the killer's motive and the identities of the 11 people killed in Los Angeles County's deadliest mass shooting in 15 years.

“We want to know as much as all of you and we’re working very hard to attain that,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Eleven people were fatally wounded and another nine were injured around 10:20 p.m. Saturday at Star Dance Studio following a Lunar New Year celebration, according to police. Ten victims died at the scene. The 11th victim died at a hospital Monday morning.

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Minutes after the shooting, the killer attempted to enter a second dance hall, Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, but a young employee intervened, wrestling away his semiautomatic pistol, and the gunman fled in a white cargo van. About 12 hours later, police in Torrance followed the suspect’s vehicle into a parking lot, where the driver fatally shot himself, according to authorities.

He was identified as 72-year-old Hemet resident Huu Can Tran, the suspected Monterey Park mass shooter.

Tran's suicide ended the manhunt, but the widespread mourning in Monterey Park, a city of about 60,000 with a large Chinese immigrant community, is just beginning as investigators work to piece together what happened.

One of the victims was shot in a vehicle outside the dance hall in Monterey Park, according to Luna, who said police recovered a total of 42 shell casings from the scene, as well as a large capacity magazine.

The gun wrestled away from Tran by a bystander in Alhambra was a 9 mm semiautomatic MAC-10 assault weapon with modifications, Luna said. Police found a Norinco 7.62x25 mm handgun in Tran's van, according to Luna, who said the firearm was registered in Tran's name. Tran was arrested in 1990 on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, Luna said.

A search of Tran's Hemet residence revealed a .308-caliber rifle as well as items that led police to believe Tran was making homemade firearm suppressors, numerous cellphones and computers, and an unknown amount of ammunition, Luna said.

“This is a very complex investigation," he said. "There's so many other things we don’t know.”

One witness told KCAL the shooter came to the dance hall seeking his wife. The investigation, which is expected to take weeks, is focused on Tran's history with both dance studios and possible jealousy about a relationship, the Los Angeles Times reported. Tran had emotional problems that became more severe in the weeks leading up to the shooting, according to the Times.

“The why is a big part of this," said Monterey Park Chief of Police Scott Wiese, who was sworn in as leader of his department on Thursday, at a press conference Monday streamed by FOX 11. "The problem is we may never know the why and we have to work past that.”

Tran went to Hemet police to report he was concerned he was being poisoned by his family, according to the New York Times, citing a law enforcement source, although the Los Angeles Times reported the incident occurred over 10 years ago.

Investigators believe Tran targeted some of his victims while others were killed randomly, according to the New York Times.

While Luna acknowledged his agency was aware of talk that jealousy, a relationship issue, or even poisoning could in some way be connected to the case, he declined to confirm any such information.

"What drove a madman to do this? We don't know," he said.

Studio owner who rushed shooter among the 11 dead

The names of the dead were in the process of being released Monday.

Among those killed were Mymy Nhan, a 65-year-old woman, and Lilan Li, a 63-year-old woman, the Los Angeles County coroner said Monday morning. Later in the day, the coroner identified two more victims: Xiujuan Yu, a 57-year-old woman, and Valentino Alvero, a 68-year-old man.

Luna specifically acknowledged Nhan, Li and Alvero on Monday, pausing for a moment during the press conference.

"At the end of the day, it truly should be about the victims and their families," he said.

Witnesses told KCAL that Ming Wei Ma, the owner of the studio where the attack occurred, died as he tried to stop the shooter.

"He was an extremely respected, very beloved, very caring teacher, instructor, extremely kind human being, and he's very much missed by everyone in the Star Dance community," friend Eric Chen told FOX 11.

Chen told ABC 7 that Ma had been teaching dance for two decades and was "respected in the dance community.”

"He was trying to stop the shooter," Chen said, citing witnesses who reported in an online chat what they saw inside the studio.

"According to the chat, he was the first to rush the shooter," Chen told CBS 2.

Other friends gave similar accounts to Sino TV, many saying they were with Ma just before the shots rang out.

READ MORE: Dance Instructor Sacrificed His Life To Save Others In Mass Shooting

Nahn loved to dance and had frequented the studio in Monterey Park for years, her family said Monday in a statement.

"But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance," they said. "We are starting the Lunar New Year broken. We never imagined her life would end so suddenly."

Known for her warm smile and contagious kindness, Nahn was a loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend, her family said.

In addition to Nhan, Li, Yu and Alvero, the coroner's department said the other victims included two women in their 60s, a man in his 60s, a woman in her 70s and three men in their 70s. Their names are being withheld, pending notification of relatives.

READ MORE: IDs Released For Some Monterey Park Mass Shooting Victims

The California Victim Compensation Board said Monday that family members of victims, as well as witnesses, may be eligible for compensation.

A hero prevents greater tragedy

The dance floor at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra was nearly empty when Tran walked through its doors and pointed a semiautomatic assault pistol at Brandon Tsay, according to the New York Times.

Tsay, a 26-year-old computer coder who works at the family business part-time, had been in the studio office, but sprung into action to physically overpower the shooter who had killed 10 people minutes earlier in neighboring Monterey Park, the Times reported.

READ MORE: 'I Was Going to Die': Man Describes Struggle to Disarm Mass Shooter

"My first thought was I was going to die here, this is it," Tsay told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

Tsay, whose family runs the studio, said the gunman was "looking around the room" as if he was "looking for targets," he told ABC.

"He started prepping the weapon and something came over me," Tsay said. "I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him. I needed to take this weapon, disarm him or else everybody would have died.

"When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle. We struggled into the lobby, trying to get this gun away from each other. He was hitting me across the face, bashing the back of my head."

“That moment, it was primal instinct,” Tsay told the Times. “Something happened there. I don’t know what came over me.”

Who is Huu Can Tran?

Those who knew Tran are in shock that he could have committed such deadly acts, according to media reports.

Neighbor Pat Roth told KCAL that Tran was a quiet person, who lived in a mobile home park for seniors, rode a motorcycle, and was known to stop and pet local dogs.

His ex-wife, who declined to be identified, told CNN he was never violent but had a temper. He was also, at one point, a regular at Star Dance Studio, CNN reported. A friend recalled to the outlet that Tran was known to be hostile to some people affiliated with the business.

Tran was an immigrant from China and a former truck driver, according to CNN.

A community in mourning

A memorial honoring the victims is taking shape at Monterey Park’s City Hall, while flowers and candles line the gate outside Star Dance Studio.

A vigil is set for 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 320 W. Newmark Ave., according to the Pasadena Star-News. A second vigil will be held by the city at the same location 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“We believe that it is important for our community to come together to remember and heal,” Mayor Henry Lo said in a prepared statement.

School districts in the Monterey Park area made plans for Monday to deal with the fallout from the attack. The Alhambra Unified School District had a no-pupil day Monday, according to its website.

Saturday's mass shooting included the most victims in Los Angeles County since 2008, when a disgruntled ex-husband killed 10 people, including himself, in Covina. It is the deadliest shooting in the U.S. since the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in May.

The first police responders on the scene Saturday were three young officers with less than a year of experience each, according to Wiese, who said all three approached the violence and chaos without hesitation.

“All they thought about was getting in there and helping the people that needed help,” he said. “They’re feeling it today.”

Sen. Alex Padilla called Monday for stronger national gun safety laws.

“When there’s a patchwork of laws and protections to various degrees across states, then clearly there are vulnerabilities that can impact any community in the country,” he said at Monday's press conference. “This is a reminder that more needs to be done."

President Joe Biden ordered U.S. flags be flown at half-staff through Jan. 26 out of respect for the victims. U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-28, told reporters Monday she had spoken with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and that they had expressed condolences.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.

City News Service contributed to this story.