UPDATE: 9 folks had been killed in a capturing late Saturday following a big Lunar New 12 months celebration within the east Los Angeles group of Monterey Park, police have confirmed.
Sgt. Bob Boese of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division informed the Related Press that the capturing occurred at a enterprise on Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park, and the suspect is a male. Officers haven’t confirmed how many individuals have been injured.
In keeping with a number of media reviews, the capturing occurred in Monterey Park simply after 10 pm following a big Lunar New 12 months celebration competition, with one witness telling the LA Occasions that they believed the capturing occurred at an area dance membership.
LA Metropolis Controller Kenneth Mejia, an official within the native Los Angeles authorities, posted a tweet sharing condolences after the information broke.
“Our hearts exit to those that misplaced family members tonight in our neighboring metropolis, Monterey Park, the place a mass capturing simply occurred,” he tweeted. “Monterey Park is residence to one of many largest Asian communities in Los Angeles County, and plenty of had been out celebrating the Lunar New 12 months.”
Many particulars concerning the capturing stay unclear. A witness named Seung Gained Choi, who owns a restaurant within the neighborhood of the capturing, informed the LA Occasions that three folks “rushed” into his restaurant and informed him to lock his door.
The newspaper continues to report that the folks informed Choi that there was a shooter with a machine gun and a number of rounds of ammunition within the space.
Earlier within the day, hundreds of individuals had gathered in Monterey Park for the Lunar New 12 months competition. Saturday was the beginning of the two-day competition, and it is likely one of the largest Lunar New 12 months occasions in Southern California, AP reported.
The Monterey Park authorities web site says that previous Lunar New 12 months occasions in Monterey Park have “drawn crowds estimated at over 100,000 guests per day from all around the Southern California space.”
