Toll rises to 11 as city searches for answers

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. – A hero emerged, victims’ names were released, and this close-knit, predominantly Asian American city was in mourning as the death toll from a shooting rampage rose to 11 on Monday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services said Monday that one of the four people from the Monterey Park shooting being treated at the LA County-USC Medical Center died of gunshot wounds. A department’s news release said another of the wounded patients was in serious condition and the two others were recovering.

Authorities said the initial death count from Saturday night’s attack at a dance studio was 10, and at least 10 were injured.

Relatives say the gunman, Huu Can Tran, 72, had once given free lessons at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, where the killings took place hours after Lunar New Year celebrations. Tran was found dead Sunday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a white cargo van.

Authorities said Tran’s motive remained unclear.

Information emerged Monday about the victims. Valentino Alvero, 68; Lilan Li, 63; My Nhan, 65; and Xiujuan Yu, 57, were killed, authorities said.

Authorities were still notifying the families of the other victims, according to Sarah Ardalani, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County medical examiner.

Early Monday, Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo told CNN a list of victim names circulating on social media “can’t be confirmed yet.” George Chen, mayor of nearby Torrance, California, told the outlet it was “possible” some of the victims were residents of Torrance.

Authorities did not release information on whether the victims had a connection with their killer.

The shooting took place at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, 9 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Officers arrived within three minutes of receiving a call, Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said.

“When they came into the parking lot, it was chaos,” Wiese said.

He said officers aided the wounded and within one or two minutes put together a team to enter the building, where they found the dead and injured.

Civilians disarm gunman

About 20 to 30 minutes after the shooting at Star Ballroom, an Asian man with a gun entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna. Two people at Lai Lai wrestled the firearm from Tran and he fled, according to Luna.

“He was disarmed by two community members who I consider heroes because they saved lives. This could have been much worse,” he said.

Luna said the firearm was a “magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol,” and investigators were trying to determine whether the gun was legal in the state.

He said authorities began looking for a white van after witnesses reported seeing the suspect flee from Alhambra. Another handgun was discovered in the van, he said.

Brandon Tsay, a computer coder and the third-generation operator of the family-run Lai Lai dance hall, was in an office off the lobby when he heard the front door click. He said he turned and saw a man holding a gun.

“My first thought was I was going to die here – this is it,” Tsay, 26, told ABC News’ Robin Roberts in an interview Monday on “Good Morning America.”

Tsay said he saw the gunman start prepping the weapon and realized he needed to disarm him or “else everybody would have died.”

“When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle,” Tsay said. “We struggled into the lobby, trying to get this gun away from each other. He was hitting me across the face, bashing the back of my head.”

Tsay said he then pointed the gun at the suspect and shouted: “Get the hell out of here! I’ll shoot! Get away! Go!” The gunman paused, then fled to his van. Tsay then called police. Family members told The New York Times that surveillance video shows a fierce struggle for the gun, and that no one else was involved in the struggle.

Manhunt ends in Torrance

Luna said the the gunman’s van was spotted in Torrance, about 25 miles from Monterey Park. Armored SWAT vehicles and law enforcement SUVs surrounded the van Sunday at a parking lot across from the Del Amo mall. When the officers got out of their patrol car around 10:20 a.m. Sunday, they heard a gunshot from the van and called for help, Luna said. Two SWAT vehicles were driven to the site and pinned the van in from the front and back. About an hour later, SWAT team members smashed a van window and entered.

“Our sheriff’s SWAT team approached and cleared the van,” then determined the occupant had shot himself, Luna said. Investigators searched the vehicle and determined that the man inside was the subject of their search. Authorities said they were not sure why Tran drove to Torrance.

Public records indicate Tran once had addresses in the city and nearby communities. His ex-wife told reporters her husband used to give informal lessons at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. Another longtime acquaintance also said Tran used to frequently visit the dance studio, although it is unclear how long it had been since he danced there.

“We do understand that he may have had a history of visiting this dance hall and perhaps the motivation has to do with some personal relationships,” Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo said. “But that’s something that I think investigators are still uncovering.”

Tran was an immigrant from China, according to a marriage license copy his former wife provided to CNN. Records show they divorced in 2006.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department obtained a search warrant for Tran’s home in a senior community in Hemet, California, CNN reported. Records show Tran owned a mobile home in the community 85 miles east of Los Angeles in Riverside County.

Nationwide mourning

President Joe Biden ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half staff on Monday. The flag will be flown at half-staff at the White House and all public buildings and grounds, military posts, Navy ships, embassies and other offices abroad until sunset Thursday, Biden said in his proclamation.

The tragedy marked the fifth mass killing in the U.S. since the start of the year. It is also the deadliest since May 24, when 21 people were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY database on mass killings in the U.S.