The Monterey Park shooter was reportedly hunting for his wife in the dance studio before he opened fire killing 10 people and injuring 10 others on Saturday night during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. According to sources, Huu Can Tran, 72, there is increasing evidence of "domestic violence" that led to the massacre at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio.
Huu Can Tran was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head in a white van he used during the mass shooting. Reports claim that all the victims were Asians. It has also been revealed that Tran was a dance teacher at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio around two decades ago.
Evidence of Domestic Violence
According to reports, Tran was looking for his wife in the dance studio and wanted to kill her. Although police haven't officially released a motive behind the mass shooting, a police source told LA Mag: "There is increasing evidence this was domestic violence."
Chester Chong, the head of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles and a prominent member of the Monterey Park community, suggested that the suspect might have been jealous of his wife since she was invited to a party but not him.
"This hate is because of wife and husband. I believe because of that there was the killing of innocent people," he told ABC 7.
Tran, 72, gave dance lessons at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio nearly every night in the early 2000s when he lived nearby in the San Gabriel Valley five minutes away. Tran's friend, who was close to the shooter starting in the early 2010s, told CNN that he was "hostile to a lot of people" at the studio and thought they were saying "evil things about him."
This comes as the mass shooter's ex-wife also revealed that she first met Tran decades ago during a dance lesson and it didn't take long for them to get married.
The shooting on Saturday claimed the lives of five women and five men while injuring another 10 people. Tran died on Sunday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a standoff with the police.
According to a DailyMial.com report, Tran in addition to teaching dance almost five times a week, also ran a company called Tran's Trucking Inc. between 2002 and 2004, according to papers acquired by CNN.
Although the motive is still unclear, Tran intended to kill more. "He intended to kill more people," Luna said in a news conference on Sunday night. "They saved lives," he said of the patrons. "This could've been much worse."
Police said that the attack could have been deadlier had two community members not disarmed Huu Can Tran. Luna said Tran was carrying what was described as a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine well as a second weapon that was recovered in the van where his body was found.
Personal Grudge Turns Deadly
Five women and five men were killed in the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, and an additional 10 people were injured. On Sunday, seven patients remained in hospitals.
This comes as it was revealed that Tran is a Chinese immigrant. People who knew Tran and recalled him as being hostile to his students also described him to CNN as being easily irritated, complaining a lot, and not seeming to trust people.
Tran's ex-wife, whose identity hasn't been revealed, said that she was only married to the shooter for a brief period of time before he requested a divorce in 2005.
Tran was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head in a white van he used during the mass shooting. Reports claim that all the victims were Asians.
Sources told CNN that Tran used to be a "regular patron" at the dance hall. It is believed that the elderly were mostly the patrons of the dance club, as most of his victims were Asians and above 50 years of age.
Tran killed himself following a standoff with cops after he fled the scene of the massacre. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that Tran's motive is still unclear.
Luna described what happened on Sunday when law enforcement personnel stormed and entered the vehicle after surrounding it for several hours. When they got close to the car after hearing a shot, they saw Tran's body slouched over the wheel.
A police standoff came after 10 people, believed to be Asians, were shot and killed at a ballroom dancing studio late on Saturday during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in the primarily Asian American neighborhood of Monterey Park.
The shooter then entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in adjacent Alhambra 20 to 30 minutes later. However, the customers wrestled the weapon from him, and he fled the scene.
Authorities then started searching for the white van after witnesses claimed to have seen the suspect driving away from Alhambra in it.
Tran was previously profiled on a wanted poster by Luna's office, which showed him with spectacles, a leather jacket, a dark winter beanie with a white design, and other clothing.
Tran was seen at a hospital requesting medical attention shortly before the standoff, according to law enforcement sources. Tran went to the ER for treatment of wounds that were consistent with having been involved in a fight. He waited a short while before departing without receiving care.
The hospital alerted the authorities when the patient fit the suspect's description posted on the sheriff's department's Twitter page,
Around 10:20 am, police in Torrance, California, spotted a white van that matched the suspect vehicle description. They then followed the van into a parking lot of a mall and stopped the vehicle which resulted in a standoff. A few minutes later, a single gunshot could be heard coming from inside the van.
The local police officers dispersed and requested the assistance of tactical squads. Armored tanks and a bomb squad surrounded the van before noon local time, sparking a confrontation that lasted for more than an hour.
A SWAT squad unlocked the car's passenger door and subsequently its side doors just before noon local time. Photos showed a man slumped over in the driver's seat, whom investigators confirmed was the shooting suspect, according to Luna.
Police also confirmed that Tran was the only suspect in the shooting.
