As investigators continued to hunt a motive for the weekend mass taking pictures that left 11 lifeless in Monterey Park, Vice President Kamala Harris visited town Wednesday to satisfy with the households of the victims killed, whereas additionally calling on Congress to enact “cheap” gun-control measures.
Harris arrived at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport shortly earlier than 4:30 p.m. and was greeted by officers together with Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and county Sheriff Robert Luna. She then rode in a motorcade to Monterey Park, the place she positioned flowers at a rising memorial exterior the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, the place Saturday night time’s taking pictures occurred.
Chatting with reporters exterior the dance studio, she decried a spate of multiple-victim shootings within the nation for the reason that starting of the 12 months and mentioned whereas it is essential to assist victims, “we should additionally require that leaders in our nation who’ve the power and the ability and the duty to do one thing, that they act.”
“California has been brave as a frontrunner on the problem of sensible gun- security legal guidelines, however we additionally want Congress to behave,” she mentioned, including that the nation wants a “uniform strategy” that protects 2nd Modification rights however consists of “cheap” gun legal guidelines.
After spending eight minutes on the ballroom memorial, Harris left for the Langley Senior Heart to satisfy with members of the family of the victims and first responders.
A vigil — the third in three nights within the metropolis — was additionally being held Wednesday night time exterior the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The vigil was organized by the group Compassion in SGV, and follows vigils on Monday and Tuesday nights exterior Monterey Park Metropolis Corridor.
In the meantime, investigators continued pouring over proof as they tried to find out what led a 72-year-old man to gun down 11 folks and wound 9 others Saturday night time within the deadliest mass taking pictures in Los Angeles County historical past.
Ten folks died on the scene of the taking pictures on the Star Ballroom Dance Studio within the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue, close to Garfield Avenue. An eleventh sufferer later died at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Heart.
The coroner’s workplace on Tuesday recognized the entire victims as:
— My Nhan, 65;
— Lilian Li, 63;
— Xiujuan Yu, 57;
— Muoi Ung, 67;
— Hong Jian, 62;
— Yu Kao, 72;
— Chia Yau, 76;
— Valentino Alvero, 68;
— Wen Yu, 64;
— Ming Ma, 72; and
— Diana Tom, 70.
Ming Ma was a preferred teacher and proprietor on the dance studio, buddies mentioned.
The gunman, recognized by Luna as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a white van that was stopped by Torrance police Sunday afternoon. A handgun was recovered from the van, together with different potential proof linking him to the killings on the dance studio, Luna mentioned.
However the thriller remained about what drove Tran to open hearth contained in the dance studio after a day of celebration in Monterey Park for the Lunar New 12 months.
Luna mentioned on Monday investigators haven’t decided a motive for the taking pictures.
“We need to know as a lot as all of you, and we’re working very onerous to acquire that,” he mentioned.
There have been some preliminary experiences, citing legislation enforcement sources, that the person had been on the lookout for his spouse or companion on the studio.
Some media experiences additionally advised the gunman was focusing on particular folks, probably explaining why he went to a second dance studio in Alhambra after the preliminary taking pictures, trying to find extra folks he needed to focus on.
Police within the Riverside County group of Hemet, the place Tran lived, mentioned Monday he went to the Hemet Police Division twice in early January “alleging previous fraud, theft, and poisoning allegations involving his household within the Los Angeles space 10 to twenty years in the past. Tran said he would return to the station with documentation concerning his allegations however by no means returned.”
Investigators searched Tran’s Hemet house Sunday night time. Luna mentioned among the many gadgets discovered on the house have been a .308-caliber rifle, a whole lot of rounds of .308-caliber and 9mm ammunition and “gadgets that lead us to consider the suspect was manufacturing do-it-yourself firearm suppressors,” or silencers.
Luna mentioned investigators recovered 42 shell casings contained in the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, indicating the variety of photographs that have been fired on the scene of the bloodbath that occurred at 10:22 p.m. Saturday. A big-capacity journal was additionally recovered.
Luna confirmed that one of many victims — probably Nhan — was shot exterior the dance studio and was discovered inside a automobile. Luna mentioned that individual was possible shot earlier than the suspect went into the studio.
Luna described the weapon used within the killings as a “magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol.”
About 17 minutes after the Monterey Park assault, Tran entered the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio within the 100 block of South Garfield Avenue in neighboring Alhambra.
Luna speculated that Tran was going to attempt to kill extra folks there, however 26-year-old worker Brandon Tsay, whose household runs the studio, confronted Tran and wrestled away his gun, prompting him to depart.
The weapon that was taken from Tran in Alhambra was a 9mm semiautomatic MAC-10 assault weapon, Luna mentioned.
On Sunday afternoon, greater than 12 hours after the taking pictures, Torrance police positioned a white van matching the suspect’s automobile close to Sepulveda and Hawthorne boulevards and tried a site visitors cease. The van entered the parking
lot of a strip mall across the nook from Del Amo Trend Heart. When officers approached, they heard a single gunshot fired from throughout the automobile.
Police then maneuvered two BearCat SWAT automobiles on every finish of the van, butting up towards it, whereas a number of police automobiles parked close by for added assist.
Authorities made entry into the van shortly earlier than 1 p.m. and located a person slumped within the driver’s seat, lifeless from a gunshot wound. Luna mentioned there was no preliminary proof of any legislation enforcement official firing a weapon. He mentioned the motive force within the van was Tran.
On Monday, Luna mentioned a handgun was recovered contained in the van, together with “clothes that the suspect wore through the fee” of the Monterey Park taking pictures.
Saturday’s mass taking pictures was the deadliest taking pictures in the US for the reason that bloodbath in Uvalde, Texas in Might that left 22 lifeless, together with the perpetrator.
Anybody with additional details about the taking pictures was requested to name sheriff’s murder detectives at 323-890-5500 or go away nameless tips about the Crime Stoppers line at 800-222-8477.
