California's MONTEREY PARK, Jan. 23 (Reuters) – In an effort to learn more about what led an elderly gunman to open fire in a dance hall he had frequented and kill 11 people before taking his own life, investigators collected 42 bullet casings from the scene of one of California's worst mass shootings on Monday.
Huu Can Tran, 72, was named by police as the only suspect in a massacre that took place Saturday night during a Chinese Lunar New Year event in Monterey Park, a centre for the Asian-American neighbourhood just east of downtown Los Angeles.
After a second attempted attack was prevented, he allegedly proceeded to another dance club, where he subsequently shot himself in the head in his parked getaway car as police moved in to make an arrest on Sunday, capping up a frantic manhunt that had lasted around 12 hours.
Tran opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a place frequented by older customers of Asian heritage, leaving 10 people dead and 10 more injured. According to Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese, one of the victims who was in critical condition at the hospital on Monday passed away from his injuries.
According to the coroner's office, all of the deceased—six women and five men—were in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.
While Los Angeles-area police continued their investigation into the second full day, a separate, mass shooting was alleged to have taken place on Monday in the northern California coastal town of Half Moon May, leaving seven people dead.
Hilda Solis, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, described Saturday's mass shooting as the deadliest on record in the county, which has around 10 million citizens and is the most populated in the country.
