Ten people have been killed by a gunman who remains at large following a tragic mass shooting at a dance club during Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations in the US.
The Mirror reports the incident unfolded at 10.22pm local time (6.22am UK time) in Monterey Park, a few miles east of Los Angeles, California, as thousands gathered for a two-day celebration. Footage shared on social media appears to show police officers descending on the area and firefighters treating victims.
Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said on Sunday that 10 wounded people were taken to hospitals and their conditions range from "stable" to "critical". He said the 10 people died at the scene, but gave no description of the shooter or the weapon he used.
Meyer did not say why police took several hours to release information tied to the shooting while the gunman was still at large. Details on a motive are also scant, and the police chief said it was too early to ascertain whether the shooter knew any of his victims or if the act was being considered a hate crime.
People were "pouring out of the location screaming" when officers arrived at around 10.30pm on Saturday January 21. He said officers then went into the ballroom and found victims as firefighters treated the wounded.
Speaking to the LA Times, Seung Won Choi, who owns a seafood barbecue restaurant across the street from where the shooting took place, told the US newspaper three people rushed into his restaurant and told him to lock the door.
Choi added the gunman appeared to have multiple rounds of ammunition with him and had been seen to reload his firearm. Choi said he believes the shooting took place at a dance club.
A 27-year-old man named John told the newspaper he heard about four or five gunshots from nearby, while Wong Wei, who lives nearby, said his friend had been in the bathroom at the dance club when the shooting began. When she came out, he said, she saw a gunman and three bodies.
Edwin Chen, a 47-year-old delivery dispatcher, said he grew up in the area and had a dozen family and friends in the city. He said: “This is [supposed to be] a happy time. I want to find out as much as possible. It’s still shocking.”
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, the first Asian American to hold citywide office in Los Angeles, tweeted: “Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighboring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred."
Canadian actor Simu Liu, star of Marvel superhero film Shang-Chi, tweeted that the shooting was a "terrible act". He added: "For those who are unfamiliar, Monterey Park is a city in LA County that is majority AAPI (Asian-American and Pacific Islanders).
"It's home of Asian American families, parents, grandparents, siblings, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles. All of whom were looking forward to celebrating the New Year this weekend.
"I am shocked, saddened, angered, and heartbroken for the families who have been affected tonight."
The Associated Press said "dozens" of police officers were involved in the response to the shooting in Monterey Park, around 10 miles from downtown LA. Official US census data states that 65% of Monterey Park's population is Asian.
Saturday was the start of the two-day festival, which is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California. Celebrations had wrapped up at 9pm, just one hour before tragedy struck.
It marked the fifth mass shooting in the U.S. this month and the deadliest since 21 people were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S. The latest violence comes two months after five people were killed at a Colorado Springs nightclub.
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