Monterey Park shooting suspect believed to have died by suicide in van during police standoff
Officials identify suspect as Huu Can Tran
The suspect of the Monterey Park shooting incident has died by suicide after a police standoff, the Los Angeles County sheriff has confirmed.
Authorities identified the suspect as Huu Can Tran, a septuagenarian who was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when approached by police on Sunday following an hours-long standoff in nearby Torrance County.
The standoff took place as police zeroed down on a white cargo van the suspect was believed to be driving, about 12 hours after he had allegedly carried out a Lunar New Year massacre at a dance club in Monterey Park.
The shooting on Saturday left 10 people dead near a Lunar New Year festival celebration.
The LA County Sheriff’s Department released an image of the suspect on Sunday afternoon, which depicted an older Asian male.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna had earlier on Sunday cited witnesses describing the suspect as an Asian male between the ages of 30 and 50 driving a white cargo van.
Police in Torrance, which is located outside Los Angeles, identified the white cargo van and surrounded it with police vehicles, including Swat vans and armoured BearCat vehicles.
The armoured vehicles were positioned directly behind and in front of the van to prevent the suspect from driving away from the scene. Later, a third BearCat was moved to block the driver’s side door of the van, where the window had been smashed out.
Shortly after the third BearCat was moved into position, a group of Swat officers with guns drawn entered the passenger side door of the vehicle. They then entered the side doors of the vehicle and began looking around the inside of the van.
After an initial search, the Swat officers walked away from the van. Officers later found a man’s body dead in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
Initial reports from an ABC 7 broadcast also suggested that police used a drone to get a better view of the interior of the van.
After the initial shooting, another incident occurred at another dance hall in neighbouring Alhambra in which an armed man entered the business. Patrons there managed to wrestle the gun away from the man, according to Mr Luna.
Mr Luna said police found “several pieces of evidence” that linked the suspect to both the incidents in Monterey Park and Alhambra. The evidence includes a handgun which may be illegal in California.