Monterey Park mass shooting

Suspect in Van Surrounded by SWAT in Torrance Strip Mall Parking Lot is Dead, Officials Say

Sheriff Robert Luna said there are no more outstanding suspects, and the 72-year-old found in the van in Torrance was the main suspect.

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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was still investigating the motive.

The man found inside a white cargo van in Torrance was the main suspect in a deadly mass shooting, and is dead, officials said.

Two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation say he died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Get breaking updates here.

Armored SWAT vehicles and law enforcement SUVs surrounded the white cargo van Sunday morning at a parking lot across from the Del Amo mall in Torrance, as authorities searched for a gunman who opened fire at a Monterey Park dance studio, killing 10 people and leaving 10 wounded.

The van, located in a parking lot near Del Amo Fashion Center, matched descriptions of a vehicle sought in connection with the shooting about 30 miles to the northeast in the San Gabriel Valley community of Monterey Park and another incident in nearby Alhambra.

The van was blocked in front and behind between two armored SWAT vehicles in the mall parking lot. A van window appeared the have shattered.

A man appeared to be motionless, slumped over the steering wheel of the van.

He was later identified as the main suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.

About an hour after the vehicle was surrounded by officers, members of a SWAT unit smashed a passenger's side window and entered the van at about 1 p.m.

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Mourners place flowers at a memorial where community members gathered for vigil to the people who were killed by a gunman who opened fire at a ballroom dance studio on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023 in Monterey Park, California.
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Faith leaders and community members gather for a vigil in remembrance of those killed by a gunman at a ballroom dance studio on Lunar New Year’s eve, Jan. 22, 2023, in Monterey Park, California.
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Balloon hearts float below the flag, now at half staff, in front of the Monterey Park Civic Center Monday, Jan. 23, 2023.
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Hunter Jhao, a Monterey Park resident, holds flowers during a moment of reflection at Garvey and Garfield Avenues in Monterey Park, Jan. 22, 2023.
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A makeshift memorial near the scene of a deadly shooting on Jan. 22, 2023, in Monterey Park, California. Eleven people were killed and 9 more were injured at a dance studio in Monterey Park near a Lunar New Year celebration on Lunar New Year’s eve.
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A sign on the door at Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, Jan. 22, 2023.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Police officers stand outside a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023. At least ten people were killed in a mass shooting late Saturday in a city east of Los Angeles, following a Lunar New Year celebration that attracted thousands, police said.
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Police officers stand outside a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023. At least ten people were killed in a mass shooting late Saturday in a city east of Los Angeles, following a Lunar New Year celebration.
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Law enforcement personnel gather outside a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023. A mass shooting took place at the dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration, setting off a manhunt for the suspect.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
An investigator responds to the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023.
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Investigators work at the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Local residents stand near a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023, after a gunman shot and killed at least 10 people at a dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration, setting off a manhunt for the suspect.
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Police respond to the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Police respond to a mass shooting after a briefing in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Investigators gather at a scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023. Dozens of police officers responded to reports of a shooting that occurred after a large Lunar New Year celebration in a community east of Los Angeles late Saturday.
Jae C. Hong/AP
A police officer walks near a scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., Jan. 22, 2023.
Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Police respond to a mass shooting, Jan. 22, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif.

Witnesses said a white cargo van was seen leaving the crime scene late Saturday in Alhambra. Authorities responded to that location, a dance hall, just minutes after responding to the deadly shooting at a Monterey Park dance studio.

“We had a vehicle that was described as a van of interest," said Sheriff Robert Luna. "And, there’s a van that looks just like what was described to us in the city of Torrance.”

 "Could it be our suspect? Possibly," Luna had said at a news conference.

A motive was a not yet clear.

Get the latest updates here.

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