Gunman still on the loose after 10 killed in mass shooting in Monterey Park dance studio

The gunman who opened fire at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park on Saturday night, killing 10 people and injuring 10 others, remained on the loose Sunday morning, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said a “very preliminary description” was that the suspect is an Asian man aged 30 to 50, but he did not provide further details.

“We are utilizing every resource to apprehend this suspect in what we believe to be one of the county’s most heinous cases,” Luna said.

The shooting occurred on Lunar New Year’s Eve about seven miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Luna said it was too early to tell whether the festival was connected to the shooting.

A law enforcement source briefed on the matter said the gunman used a high-powered assault rifle at close range. Some witnesses described a white cargo van, which Luna said should be considered “a van of interest.”

The mass shooting, one of California’s worst in recent memory, happened around 10:22 p.m. in the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue, at what appears to be a business known as Star Dance Studio.

“When officers arrived on scene, they observed numerous individuals, patrons ... pouring out of the location, screaming. The officers made entry to the location and located additional victims,” sheriff’s Capt. Andrew Meyer told reporters Sunday morning.

Firefighters pronounced 10 people dead at the scene, including five men and five women, Luna said. At least 10 others were taken to numerous hospitals, and their conditions range from stable to critical.

About 20 minutes after the shooting, a “male Asian suspect” with a firearm walked into another dance hall in the neighboring suburb of Alhambra, Luna said. “Some individuals wrestled the firearm from him, and that individual took off,” he said.

Officials are still working to determine whether there is a connection between the two incidents.

What to know about mass shootings FAQ How do we define a mass shooting? Mass shootings are defined as a shooting with four or more people killed — not including the shooter — in a public location with firearms, as defined by the Congressional Research Service . Are mass shootings related to mental illness? Most people who have and live with a mental illness are nonviolent . Most shooters experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age, and most shooters have studied the actions of other shooters and sought validation for their motives. According to the Violence Project — a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center dedicated to reducing violence in society — the role of serious mental illness in mass shootings is complex . The project reports that more than 80% of mass shooters were in a notable crisis prior to the shooting. Psychosis played no role for nearly 70% of mass shooters, according to the report.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255). Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line . Are mass shootings becoming more deadly and more common? Yes, mass shootings have been getting more deadly over the decades. James Densley and Jillian Peterson, who run the Violence Project and have studied every public mass shooting since 1966, write that more than half of the shootings have occurred since 2000 and 33% since 2010. They write that for decades, the toll of mass shootings has risen steadily. During the 1970s, mass shootings claimed an average of 5.7 lives per year. In 2019, the average figure was 51 deaths per year . In 2020, mass shootings were far less frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools, offices and churches shut down. Now they’re ticking back up.

What is the contagion effect? Most shooters have studied the actions of other shooters and want validation for their motives, according to James Densley and Jillian Peterson of the Violence Project . That’s why mass shootings can come in clusters and can be socially contagious, a phenomenon called the contagion effect. Research also shows how media reports on mass shootings can play a role in the contagion effect or copycat incidents, according to Dr. Dan Reidenberg from Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) at a Poynter seminar on mass shootings. Responsible and helpful reporting can inform and educate the public and possibly reduce the risk of violence, according to the seminar. How can you talk to your child about mass shootings? Check in with your child and talk to them about their concerns. Reassure them that they are safe (which is good advice for all trauma survivors). Tailor conversations and topics to what’s appropriate for your child’s age. Limit their exposure to media coverage of shootings. Maintain routines and model healthy behavior as parents. Have a plan with your children in case of an emergency. Also, watch for changes in their behavior, sleep, mood and appetite. Every child responds to trauma differently and can show signs of stress at different times, according to the American Psychological Assn. SHOW MORE SHOW LESS

Law enforcement were on scene Sunday morning in Alhambra at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in the 100 block of South Garfield Avenue, about two miles north of the Monterey Park shooting. It was not clear whether the police activity at that site was the incident referenced by authorities.

Seung Won Choi, who owns a seafood barbecue restaurant on Garvey Avenue across from where the shooting happened, said three people rushed into his restaurant and told him to lock the door.

They said there was a man with a semiautomatic gun in the area. The shooter, they said, had multiple rounds of ammunition, so that once his ammunition ran out he reloaded, Choi said.

Wong Wei, who lives nearby, said his friend had gone to the dance club that night with a few friends. His friend was in the bathroom when the shooting started.

When his friend came out, she told him she saw a gunman and three bodies — two women and one person who was the boss of the club, Wei said, adding that his friend escaped to his home around 11 p.m.

The shooter was carrying a long gun and appeared to fire indiscriminately, his friend told him.

“They don’t know why, so they run,” he said.

The shooting occurred near the site where tens of thousands had gathered Saturday for the start of a two-day Lunar New Year festival, one of the largest holiday events in the region.

Earlier in the day, crowds were enjoying skewers and shopping for Chinese food and jewelry. Saturday’s New Year festival hours were scheduled from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Monterey Park’s two-day Lunar New Year festival had been scheduled to conclude Sunday. But the day’s events are canceled “out of an abundance of caution and in reverence for the victims,” Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said.

Officials indicated that the shooting may have been a hate crime.

“As you know, hate crime is nothing new,” L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis said. “We know this is a problem, and we have to confront it.”

Luna said, “Everything is on the table.

“Who walks into a dance hall and guns down 20 people?” he said.

Hate crimes against Asian Americans in California increased 177.5% in 2021, according to the California Department of Justice.

Police at the scene of the shooting at Monterey Park on Saturday night. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

John, who declined to give his last name, lives near the shooting site. The 27-year-old got home around 10 p.m. and heard four or five gunshots, he said. Then he heard police cruisers and “smashing” down the street. He went downstairs around 11:20 p.m. to see whether the shooting occurred at the festival.

“My first concern was I know they’re having a Lunar New Year celebration,” he said. But he said he saw that the festival had already been cleaned up for the day when he arrived. He went to the scene of the shooting and saw one person being put on a stretcher. Another person had a bandage on their arm.

Video on social media showed police and fire units swarming an area on Garvey Avenue and treating victims.

The violence left many in the area stunned.

Edwin Chen, a 47-year-old delivery dispatcher, rushed over from Woodland Hills to Monterey Park around 12:30 a.m. after hearing the news. Chen said he grew up in the area, and about a dozen of his relatives and friends live there.

He said he was saddened this happened just as the community was celebrating Lunar New Year.

“This is [supposed to be] a happy time,” he said. “I want to find out as much as possible. It’s still shocking.”

“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighboring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia, the first Asian American to hold citywide office in L.A., said on Twitter.

Monterey Park, a city of 61,000 in the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles, is 65% Asian American, 27% Latino and 6% white, according to census data.

One of the anchor suburbs in the San Gabriel Valley, Monterey Park is a hub of Asian American supermarkets and restaurants.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that President Biden has been briefed on the shooting. The tweet said Biden directed his Homeland Security advisor, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, “to make sure that the FBI is providing full support to local authorities, and to update him regularly today as more details are known.”

The shooting is one of the worst in modern Los Angeles County history. One of the last mass shootings of this scale happened Christmas Eve in 2008, when a man dressed as Santa Claus entered a home in Covina, armed with five handguns. Nine people were killed in that rampage, including the gunman’s former wife and her parents. The gunman took his life hours later.

Other recent mass shootings in California include the massacre at a San Ysidro McDonald’s in 1984, where a gunman killed 21 people; and the terrorist attack that resulted in 14 deaths in San Bernardino in 2015.

In 2018, 12 people were killed during a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.

Saturday’s shooting comes five days after six people — including a 10-month old baby, his 16-year-old mother and a grandmother — were killed in the Central Valley farming community of Goshen in Tulare County.

“I hope we can make a determination as to whether this was a hate crime,” Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) said, describing the Lunar New Year as a time to celebrate with family. “This tore a hole through all of our hearts.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips can be made by calling (800) 222-8477.

Times staff writer Ruben Vives contributed to this report.