10 Dead, 10 Wounded In California Mass Shooting

A mass shooting occurred at the Lunar New Year Celebration in Los Angeles late Saturday night, leaving at least ten people dead and ten more hospitalized.  

The shooting took place at a Monterey Park dance studio, which is located ten miles east-east of Los Angeles. Police have not yet been able to identify or locate the gunman and they aren’t sure what his motive was. After the shooter fled, police said that he was a man. Law enforcement responded at 10:22 pm on Saturday. 

“When officers arrived on scene, they observed numerous individuals, patrons … pouring out of the location, screaming. The officers made entry to the location and located additional victims,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Captain Andrew Meyer said. 

Meyer said Ten victims were declared dead on the spot by firefighters. Ten more were taken to hospital where they are currently in critical to stable condition. A man who lives nearby the dance studio claimed that his friend was inside the bathroom at the time of the shooting. When she emerged, she saw three dead bodies and a gunman. According to the newspaper, his friend stated that the killer seemed to be shooting at random with a long-gun. Los Angeles Times. 

Police are looking into whether there was a second shooting Saturday night in Alhambra.

In the city, thousands celebrated the Lunar New Year. Monterey Park claims that past events have attracted more than 100,000 people daily. The celebration was supposed to go on into Sunday, but organizers have pulled the plug. 

“Monterey Park’s Lunar New Year festival features vendors offering unique gifts and specialty items, food booths with various types of delectable items, amusement rides, and lots of live entertainment,” According to the Monterey Park website, the event was held on September 11. 

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office is involved in the investigation, along with the homicide bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Monterey Park Police, and other agencies, according to CNN. 

“We’re working with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, The Federal Bureau of Investigation LA office and numerous other law enforcement agencies,” Meyer stated Sunday. 

Monterey Park is home to approximately 60,000 people, with 65% of them being Asian. Meyer stated to reporters that it was too early for them to know if they were targeted.

“We will look at every angle as far as whether it’s a hate crime or not. It’s just too early in the investigation to know,” He said.