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The gunman who killed ten people at a California nightclub before committing suicide was a frequent customer who claimed the instructors spoke “evil things about him.”
Huu Can Tran, 72, opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun late Saturday night at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, killing at least 10 people and wounded at least 10 others before storming the rival Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio, where two bystanders disarmed him.
Officials say he later committed suicide in a cargo vehicle during a standoff with police in Torrance, around 30 miles from Monterey Park.
CNN stated that various unsettling details have emerged about the gunman, who was formerly a regular customer at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where he gave informal lessons. The cause for his massacre following a Lunar New Year celebration remains unclear.
Huu Can Tran, 72, who killed ten people at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio before turning the pistol on himself was a former instructor and met his ex-wife at the facility.
Tran’s ex-wife, who requested anonymity, told the network that she met him at the class almost twenty years ago, when he offered her free lessons.
The couple married shortly thereafter, but by 2005, Tran, a Chinese immigrant, had filed for divorce.
According to CNN, a longtime acquaintance recalled Tran as a frequent visitor to the dancing studio, which he frequented “almost every night” in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
The individual informed the media outlet that Tran was “hostile to a large number of people there” and frequently complained that the instructors disliked him and spoke “evil things about him.”
According to a law enforcement source, Tran was “looking for his wife” at the two dance halls.
According to Chester Chong, chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles, the shooting was a result of domestic abuse.
A dance student described the terrifying incident, which she at first mistook for fireworks but in which she witnessed people fleeing for shelter.
The woman who identified herself as Grace told The New York Times on Sunday, “No one dared to flee; we all got down on the ground and hid wherever we could.” “No one could get out.”
She reported that a man she referred to as “Ma laoban” — “Boss Ma” — was near the entrance and appeared to be the first person shot, while two others dropped next to him.
Grace said to The Times that she witnessed the gunman flee after apparently running out of ammunition, only to return and restart the onslaught five minutes later.
“I observed him, but I was at a distance and the lighting was weak. “I could not make out his face,” she stated.
CNN, citing Hemet police spokesperson Alan Reyes, stated that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department acquired a search warrant for Tran’s home in a senior community in Hemet, a city about 85 miles east of LA in Riverside County.
According to business records cited by the news source, Tran registered Tran’s Trucking Inc. in California in 2002, but dissolved it within two years.
His ex-wife informed CNN that he had previously worked as a truck driver.
A law enforcement source informed CNN that the handgun seized from Tran at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio was a 9mm semiautomatic Cobray M11 that accepts 30-round magazines.
Sunday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna stated, “I believe the weapon recovered in Alhambra is illegal to possess in the state of California.”
Luna stated that another firearm was recovered in the van where Tran committed suicide.
“As officers exited their patrol vehicle to approach the van’s occupant, they heard a single gunshot emanating from within the van,” Luna explained. Officers fled and requested more tactical response units.
Afterward, while three armored vehicles blocked the truck, the SWAT squad approached and discovered Tran dead inside, according to the witness.
»Monterey shooter believed dancing instructors had said “evil things about him«