California
At least 10 people were killed and at least 10 others injured in a mass shooting at a ballroom dance club amid Lunar New Year celebrations attended by thousands of people in Monterey Park city in California, late Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriffâs Department said. The incident took place on Saturday 10 pm (0600 GMT) in Monterey Park, a city east of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported. Tens of thousands of people had gathered for the celebrations in the area.
Sgt Bob Boese of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Sunday that the shooting occurred at a business on Garvey Ave in Monterey Park â a city of about 60,000 people with a large Asian population about 10 miles (16 km) from downtown Los Angeles.
The shooter is a male, he added.
Saturday was the start of the two-day festival, which is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California. The two-day event features food booths, amusement rides, and lots of live entertainment, says the cityâs website. The events for Sunday were canceled out of respect for the victims, Chief Scott Wiese of the Monterey Park Police Department, said at the news conference.
âInvestigators are working every lead on this case,â Capt. Andrew Meyer from the departmentâs homicide division said at a news conference early Sunday, adding that they were reviewing CCTV footage from near the scene at a ballroom dance club.
Meyer said the male suspect fled the scene and remains at large. More information about the suspect would be provided once it becomes available, he added.
?#BREAKING: Mass shooting with reports of multiple victims Dead
â°?#MontereyPark | #CA
Currently multiple authorities are responding to a mass shooting in Monterey Park with reports of 16 people have been shot with unconfirmed reports 10 fatalities this is still developing pic.twitter.com/4XUwRwaibf
â R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 22, 2023
? #BREAKING - MASS SHOOTING leaves 10+ DEAD at Lunar New Year Festival in Monterey Park. For licensing or media inquiries please contact: [email protected] pic.twitter.com/YANjWw3FoZ
â Traffic News Los Angeles | TNLA (@TrafficNewsLA) January 22, 2023
âWe have 10 that are deceased at the scene,â he said, adding that he believed at least 10 people had been taken to hospital with âcritical to stable injuriesâ, reported NBC.
Meyer said the police were looking into every angle as to whether it was a hate crime and said it was too early in the investigation to ascertain whether the incident was racially motivated.
According to witnesses, a man with a machine gun had arrived in the area and started shooting randomly. At one time, when the ammunition ran out, the shooter went on to pick up the next round.
According to reports, the shooting took place at a dancing club in the area, the newspaper reported.
A video on social media showed police and fire units swarming the Garvey Avenue.
Earlier, dozens of police officers responded to the shooting reported from a community in California where a huge crowd had finished celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Los Angeles Times newspaper reported.
Seung Won Choi, who owns the Clam House seafood barbecue restaurant across the street from where the shooting happened, told the Los Angeles Times that three people had rushed into his establishment and urged him to lock all the doors.
They also told Choi that there was a shooter with a machine gun who had multiple rounds of ammunition on him so he could reload. Choi said he believes the shooting took place at a dance club.
The status of the shooter is unknown at this time. Some law enforcement sources told the LA Times that at least 12 people had died.
Several visuals from the scene shared on social media show a deserted road with one section cordoned off and police sirens blaring in the background. Other images showed the injured being taken away in ambulances to nearby hospitals and some receiving medical assistance by the side of the road. It is unclear whether the mass shooting suspect was in custody.
This is a developing story. More updates will follow