A suspect remains at large after at least 10 people were killed and multiple others were injured in a mass shooting at a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, California, late Saturday in an area where people were gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year, authorities said.
Capt. Andrew Meyer from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau confirmed early Sunday that 10 victims were pronounced dead at the scene, with 10 additional victims taken to local hospitals in various conditions ranging from stable to critical.
Meyer said the suspect, whom authorities earlier identified as a male, fled the scene after the shooting and remains on the loose. No description of the suspect was immediately available.
People were “pouring out of the location screaming” when officers arrived at the dance ballroom around 10:30 p.m., Meyer said, adding that officers entered the club as firefighters treated the wounded.
Meyer said no further information on the firearm used was available at this time. He said it’s too early in the investigation to know whether the gunman knew any of the victims or whether it was a hate crime.
He also said police were investigating another incident in the nearby city of Alhambra to see whether it was connected. No injuries were immediately reported in that incident.
A heavy police presence responded to the 120 block of West Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park, a city in Los Angeles County, according to photos and videos on Citizen, an app designed to allow residents to report crimes in their local area.
Several police vehicles were seen blocking an open area between a GBC International Bank and the TS Emporium, a Chinese grocery store. Entertainment venues, shopping, and dining locations lined W Garvey Avenue Saturday night. (SOURCE)
