Surveillance footage reveals the heroic moment when a good Samaritan disarmed the California dance club mass shooter by using his elbow and grabbing the attacker’s semi-automatic assault rifle during the mass shooting.
The 26-year-old Brandon Tsay can be seen fighting with the gunman, Huu Can Tran, who entered the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio late on Saturday after killing 11 people and wounding many more at a nearby dance hall in Monterey Park.
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)
Tsay, a computer programmer, told Good Morning America that he didn’t see the ballroom door closing until it was “immediately followed by the sound of a metal item clinking together” on Monday.
Tsay, who had never before seen a firearm in real life, claimed it became evident right away that the shooter “wasn’t here” to rob them, The New York Post reported.
ALSO READ: Mass Shooting: Drive-By Shooting Injures 14 People In Chicago
California Mass Shooting: Good Samaritan Uses Elbow To Disarm Suspect
The good samaritan mentioned that the suspect’s eyes were “menacing,” adding that “something came over” him as he nearly died during that horrific incident.
“I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him,” he told the morning show since he knew he and everyone else in the area will also be a part of the mass shooting casualty if he won’t do something.
Hence, he used his elbows to push the suspect away from the gun until he could get it and push the man aside.
While the hero tried to disarm the suspect, he was hit several times at the back of his head and across the face.
The good samaritan then managed to “point the gun” at the suspect and said: “Get the hell out here! I’ll shoot! Get away! Go!”
Later on, he realized that the same man, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, became responsible in one of the mass shootings in the neighboring Monterey Park 20 minutes earlier.
