Huu Can Tran, the suspect in the California mass shooting during Lunar New Year last month, seemed to have passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
“The suspect in that tragedy is no longer with us,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “He is no longer a threat.”
Sources familiar with the matter told NBC News that the driver of a white van who was stopped for a traffic violation in Torrance, a coastal city approximately 30 miles from the carnage, matched the description of a person observed at crime scenes in Monterey Park and the nearby Alhambra.
MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 23: A person kneels at a makeshift memorial outside the scene of a deadly mass shooting at a ballroom dance studio on January 23, 2023 in Monterey Park, California. An eleventh person has died and ten more were injured at the studio near a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday night. A candlelight vigil for the victims was also held in the predominantly Asian American community of Monterey Park tonight. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
California Mass Shooting: Suspect Dies From Suicide
Sheriff of Los Angeles County Robert Luna said in a Fox7 News report that Tran’s body was discovered inside a white vehicle and that he had self-inflicted gunshot wounds. They also found a pistol inside the car.
He also said that a guy with a pistol entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in adjacent Alhambra 20 to 30 minutes after the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park late on Saturday, which left five ladies and five men dead and another ten people wounded. The two incidents, according to police, are related.
Luna said that a “male Asian suspect” brought a “firearm” inside the Alhambra club and that he was wrestled away from it before fleeing. Police have the gun from Alhambra, and investigators are interested in a white cargo vehicle that was observed in the vicinity.
ALSO READ: California Mass Shooting: Hero Uses Elbows To Disarm Attacker
In Torrance, California, some 30 miles from the Monterey Park shooting, police had surrounded a white vehicle around noon. It was a blocked scenario, according to Luna, where the suspect may “possibly” be present.
Fox11 News also reported that authorities saw a man’s body in the white van’s driver’s seat.
Images of the alleged shooter were made public by the Sheriff’s Department. He was described as an Asian male between the ages of 30 and 50, standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He was last seen sporting a black leather jacket, a hat, and spectacles.
It can be recalled that the shooter started firing at around 10:30 p.m., local time during the largest Lunar New Year festival in California.
According to the authorities, 10 persons were hospitalized with various ailments.
RELATED ARTICLE: California Mass Shooting Update: 72-Year-Old Gunman Dead; Death Toll Reaches 11
