One courageous neighborhood member disarmed the Monterey Park, California, mass taking pictures suspect at a second dance studio after the lethal rampage and prevented additional carnage, authorities confirmed Monday.
What to know: About 20 to half-hour after the suspected gunman killed 10 folks at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran entered Lai Lai Ballroom & Dance Studio in Alhambra, California, with a gun and certain aspiring to shoot once more, in line with Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
What police say: Tran was found in a white van within the close by city of Torrance, California, the place authorities discovered him useless of a self-inflicted gunshot. The person who disarmed the gunman prevented extra carnage, Luna stated. “This might have been a lot worse.”
Nonetheless unknown: Authorities have but to find a doable motive for the violence, together with whether or not the taking pictures may have been a hate crime. “We need to know the way one thing this terrible can occur,” Luna stated.
‘Courageous man’ disarmed gunman who entered Lai Lai Ballroom & Dance
Witnesses on the Lai Lai ballroom in Alhambra, about two miles away from the Monterey Park dance studio, reported seeing the shooter flee to a white van, in line with authorities. The same van was on the web site of regulation enforcement motion in TorranceSunday afternoon, the place authorities found Tran, who was discovered useless from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Tran was probably aspiring to shoot extra folks when he entered Lai Lai Ballroom & Dance, in line with Luna. Brandon Tsay, who works on the institution began by his grandparents, wrested a weapon away from him and saved “numerous lives,” Luna confirmed on Monday.
“He’s the hero that disarmed the suspect,” Luna stated. “What a courageous man he’s.”
Tsay took a 9 mm semi-automatic assault weapon from Tran on the Lai Lai Ballroom, Luna stated.
Tsay instructed ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he thought he was going to die. “My first thought was, I used to be going to die right here. This was it,” Tsay stated.
“One thing came to visit me. I spotted I wanted to get the weapon away from him, I wanted to take this weapon, disarm him or else all people would have died,” Tsay stated. “Once I bought the braveness, I lunged at him with each my palms, grabbed the weapon and we had a wrestle.”
Luna had beforehand stated Sunday that two folks had disarmed the attacker however confirmed Monday that it was one particular person. Safety footage proven on “Good Morning America” confirmed solely the 2 males struggling for the gun.
Tsay and his household additionally instructed the New York Instances that he fought the attacker on his personal.
“It was simply my son. He may have died,” his father, Tom Tsay, instructed The Instances.
Police found a “magazine-fed semiautomatic assault pistol” with an connected large-capacity journal on the Alhambra studio, in line with Luna.
Opinion:Monterey Park mass taking pictures breaks promise of Lunar New 12 months for Asian People
The Alhambra ballroom was closed on Sunday in gentle of the taking pictures in Monterey Park, in line with a Fb submit on Sunday.
“In observance of the tragedy at Star Dance final night time, Lai Lai Ballroom will likely be closed right this moment,” the submit learn. “Lai Lai will reopen Monday for classes solely. As an additional precaution, all college students and academics are topic to look previous to coming into the studio. Our prayers exit to all of the victims households.”
The town of Alhambra praised the bravery of these on the ballroom who disarmed the gunman and prevented additional carnage.
“We ship our ideas and prayers to the victims. We thank the people who stepped as much as assist and stop additional harm,” town wrote in a information launch Sunday. “We additionally acknowledge those that stepped in right here in Alhambra to disarm a person threatening our personal neighborhood.”
Dig deeper
Contributing: The Related Press