Surveillance footage shows the heart-stopping moment a hero tackled the California mass shooter, wrestling his gun off him.
Shooter Huu Can Tran, 72, opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol on Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park in California, US, killing 10 people and wounding 10 more during Lunar New Year celebrations.
From there the shooter went on to nearby Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, with police believing he intended to continue his killing spree.
Except Brandon Tsay, whose family owns the ballroom, stepped in to tackle him, even managing to take the shooter's gun.
The computer coder told “Good Morning America” he thought nothing of someone coming in until he heard the "sound of a metal object clinking together.”
Tsay continued: “That’s when I turned around and saw that there was an Asian man holding a gun.
“My first thought was I was gonna die here. This was it."
Tsay explained it didn't just look like Tran was there to commit a robbery but was "looking for targets".
He said: “When he was looking around the room, it seemed like he was looking for targets. People to harm,”
Tsay continued: “When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle”.
“He was hitting me across the face, especially in the back of my head. I was trying to use my elbows to separate the gun away from him, create some distance,” he described of the fight caught on camera.
Once Tsay seized the gun, he pointed it at the man and shouted: “Get the hell out of here, I’ll shoot, get away, go!”
The prospective attacker eventually backed off.
Armed officers later surrounded the shooter's van in a shopping centre car park just as one gunshot was heard.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said officers had located the white van which had been a vehicle of interest following an attempted second shooting.
A handgun was recovered by investigators at the scene.
The sheriff said he didn't have their exact ages but all of the people killed appeared to be over 50. Seven people remain in hospital.
He said the investigation was ongoing although the motives of the suspect remain unclear.
Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said Sunday evening that within three minutes of receiving the call, officers arrived at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park.
There, they found carnage inside and people trying to flee through all the doors.
Authorities have shared little about Tran.
“We do understand that he may have had a history of visiting this dance hall and perhaps the motivation has to do with some personal relationships,” said Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo. Public records show Tran once had addresses in the city and neighbouring ones.
"But that’s something that I think investigators are still uncovering and investigating."
The suspect was carrying what Luna described as a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, and a second handgun was discovered in the van where Tran died.
