Ten people were killed in a mass shooting in Los Angeles on Saturday when a gunman opened fire at a ballroom dance studio. At least 10 others were injured, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The shooting took place in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian-American neighborhood in the city.
Although the attack happened around 10:20 a.m. on the same day as a lunar new year celebration in the area that drew thousands from southern California, the sheriff’s department said it didn’t take long to determine if the attack was racially motivated.
“We will look at every angle as far as whether it is a hate crime or not,” said Captain Andrew Meyer of the sheriff’s department in a statement to reporters.
The gunman remains at large. Meyer also said the department is aware of another incident in suburban Alhambra and is looking into possible connections. “We have investigators at the scene trying to determine if there is any connection between the two incidents,” he said.
Seung Won Choi, told the Los Angeles Times that three men ran into a nearby seafood restaurant and told them to lock the doors. They said, “the shooter . . . have multiple rounds of ammo, so when they run out of ammo, they reload,” the LA Times reported.
It’s possible the death toll from the shooting could rise, Meyer said, because some of the wounded remain in critical condition. The second day of the lunar new year celebration in Monterey Park has been canceled.
It was the deadliest of the 33 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It was the deadliest shooting since 21 people were killed at a school in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022.