Online video purports to show officers and firefighters swarming the scene and treating people. Saturday afternoon, tens of thousands of people gathered in Monterey Park for one of the largest Chinese New Year events in the region.
Police have verified that ten individuals were killed in a shooting during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in California.
At least ten additional persons are being treated in area hospitals, with conditions ranging from critical to stable. According to Captain Andrew Meyer during a news conference.
The shooter is still at large, and no reason for the act has been determined, he added.
Officers rushed to the shooting in Monterey Park, a city just east of Los Angeles, at approximately 10:20 p.m. on Saturday (approximately 6 a.m. on Sunday in the United Kingdom) after a local shop reported gunfire.
Several victims were still inside a ballroom dance studio, apparently the Star Dance Studio on Garvey Avenue, when they arrived.
Online videos depicted officers rushing the scene, firefighters assisting injured individuals, and victims on stretchers being loaded into ambulances.
The proprietor of a seafood restaurant, Seung Won Choi, told the Los Angeles Times that three individuals rushed inside his establishment and instructed him to shut the door because a man armed with a machine gun and many rounds of ammo was outside.
Officers conducting a second incident investigation
The captain said: “The Park Police Fire Department went to the scene, treated the injured. And confirmed the deaths of ten individuals.
“At least ten additional victims were brought to several local hospitals, where their situations range from stable to critical.
“The culprit fled the scene and is still at large.”
In a previous update, authorities reported nine fatalities.
Additionally, Captain Meyer said that detectives are examining a second occurrence at a nearby dancing studio. To investigate “whether there is a connection.”
The local community has been warned to remain vigilant as investigators search for the suspect and investigate the attack’s purpose.
“Home to one of the largest Asian communities in the world”
City Controller Kenneth Mejia, an officer in the Los Angeles government, expressed his condolences to families who lost loved ones in the “mass massacre” in a tweet.
“Monterey Park is home to one of Los Angeles County’s major Asian communities. And many were out enjoying the Lunar New Year,” he added.
On Saturday afternoon, tens of thousands of people came for a two-day event that is one of the largest in the region.
According to a notice from the City of Monterey Park, audiences were able to participate in various activities, see live entertainment, and visit “hundreds of merchants” as part of the festivities.
