her police Californiasearching for answers about the motives behind one of the worst massacres in state history, today ransacked the home of an elderly man who killed 10 people in a Los Angeles dance hall and then committed suicide.

Hu Kang Tran, 72, is the only suspect in the mass murder at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park during the Lunar New Year celebrations, according to police. This place is very popular mainly with Asian older people.

“Angry and Suspicious”

Tran, a former housekeeper described as “evil and suspicious”, killed ten people between the ages of 50 and 80 and injured many more.

On Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said “everything is settled” as to the cause of the attack. However, Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lowe told NBC that authorities were looking at the attacker’s “personal relationship” as a possible motive. Tran lived in Hemet, California and frequented the ballrooms. According to Lo, his target may have been his ex-wife.

Police officers from Hemet, about 60 miles (100 km) from Los Angeles, are helping with a search of Tran’s home in a gated community for the elderly, Alan Reyes, a local government spokesman, said. The search began around 8:30 pm Sunday and continued today, he said, adding that Tran was not known to local police.

Tran had a truck driver’s license and Tran’s Trucking Inc, registered in his name, with an address in Monterey Park. He has lived in the Los Angeles area since at least the 90s and moved to a motorhome in Hemet in 2020.

Adam Hood, who rented Tran’s properties in the Los Angeles area for many years, told Reuters he was aggressive and suspicious and had few friends. But he liked dancing, it was almost his only social activity. According to Hood, he complained that people in the Star Ballroom were talking behind his back. “In my opinion, he was a good dancer. But he was suspicious of the people in the ballroom, angry and suspicious. I think he couldn’t take it anymore,” he said.

Tragedy and chase

There could have been more tragedy. About 20 minutes after the Monterey Park shooting, Tran entered the Lai Lai ballroom and studio in the nearby city of Alhambra. There, Brandon Chai, the owner of the family business, fought him and grabbed his gun before he could fire.

“At that moment, some primal instinct woke up. Something happened. I don’t know what came over me,” Tsai told the New York Times, explaining that the gunman left after they fought for about 1.5 minutes.

Nearly 12 hours later, police in Torrance, southwest of Monterey Park, discovered Tran’s white van was driving. Approaching him, they heard a shot. Tran committed suicide.

Authorities have not yet released the names of all the victims, as their families should be notified first. Two women were among the victims: Mi Nan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office. American media reports that one of the victims was the owner and dance teacher Ming Wei Ma, who tried to disarm the attacker.

Seven out of ten victims are still in hospitals.

There will be a picket at Monterey Park City Hall tonight in memory of the victims.

Luna said the gun Tran used was probably illegal in California because it had a high-capacity magazine.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}