A 72-year-old man killed at least ten people this Saturday at a dance hall in southern California. The suspect in this shooting died Sunday after a chase with the police.
Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old man of Asian origin, opened fire on Saturday evening during the Lunar New Year celebration in a dance hall in a Californian town near Los Angeles populated mainly by people of Asian origin, killing 10 dead and 10 injured before fleeing, authorities said.
• At least ten dead and ten injured in a dance hall
Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office told reporters that he responded to emergency calls around 10:10 p.m. Saturday (7:10 a.m. Sunday, French time) and then discovered people fleeing the scene.
The police entered the place and located additional victims, “he said. The emergency services “treated the injured and declared the death of 10 of the victims on the spot”.
“There are at least ten other victims who have been transported to several local hospitals and are in stable to critical conditions,” he added.
• Death of the shooter after a chase
The suspected shooter in the California Lunar New Year mass shooting died on Sunday after a major chase. He had “fled” and was actively sought by the authorities.
This hunt ended in a dramatic sequence, with footage taken by helicopter and broadcast live from Torrance just over 40 km from Monterey Park. The vehicle, a white van located in a parking lot, was blocked from the front and rear by armored police vehicles.
Police officers then approached the vehicle with great caution and entered it. On AFP images, we see a lifeless body in the front of the van The reason for the attack is not known at this time and the investigation continues, say the authorities.
• A new drama in the United States
Monterey Park, a city of some 61,000 mostly Asians, is located about eight miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
The United States pays a very heavy price for the spread of firearms in its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them. That same Saturday evening, 12 people were injured by bullets in a nightclub in Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, a new illustration that no place in American daily life seems immune.
About 49,000 people died from firearms in 2021 in the United States, compared to 45,000 in 2020, which was already a record year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.
• Joe Biden orders flags to be half-masted
All American flags adorning public establishments will be lowered to half-mast in tribute to the victims of the massacre in Monterey Park, California, President Joe Biden ordered Sunday.
The U.S. president ordered the flags to be flown at half-mast until the evening of January 26 “as a sign of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on January 21, 2023 in Monterey Park, California,” according to a House statement. White
