Death Toll Rises to 11 in Monterey Park Shooting

Mayor says Huu Can Tran may have been targeting ex-wife
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2023 4:44 PM CST
11th Monterey Park Victim Dies
Kenny Loo, 71, prays outside Star Dance Studio for the victims killed in Saturday's shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The death toll from the Monterey Park mass shooting rose to 11 Monday with the death of one of several critically injured victims. "Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we are saddened to share that one of the victims has succumbed to their extensive injuries," the LA County-USC Medical Center said, per the BBC. "We want to express our deepest sympathies to their families and loved ones." The hospital said its staff has "worked tirelessly to care for the four victims entrusted to our care" after the Saturday night shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio.

Earlier Monday, authorities said the victims were all over 50, including three men in their 70s. The age of the 11th victim has not been disclosed. NBC reports that Monterey Park's mayor said Monday that gunman Huu Can Tran may have been targeting his ex-wife. "My understanding is that he may have come because his ex-wife was reveling, celebrating the Lunar New Year, and it sounded like there was a history of domestic violence, which is unfortunate," Henry Lo said. Records show that Tran was married in 2001 and filed for divorce in 2005. The 72-year-old killed himself on Sunday.

Tran's home in a mobile home community in Hemet, 80 miles from the site of the mass shooting, was searched Monday. A Hemet police spokesman said Tran had recently contacted police claiming he was the victim of theft and poisoning by relatives around a decade ago, but failed to return to the police station with documentation. Monterey Park Police Chief Scott Wiese said he doesn't know if left Tran behind a note explaining why he opened fire at the dance hall and tried to attack a second one, the AP reports. "We all want answers to questions that we may never have answers to," Wiese said. "I know that my individual officers would like to know why. I know the families want to know why. The why is a big part of this. The problem is, we may never know the why." (More Monterey Park shooting stories.)

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