Ten people have been killed in a shooting during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in California, police have confirmed.
At least 10 more people are being treated at local hospitals and are in critical to stable condition, Captain Andrew Meyer said during a news conference.
Photo: AP
He added that the gunman is still at large and the motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
Officers responded to the shooting in Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles, at around 10.20pm on Saturday (around 6.20am Sunday UK time) after a local business reported shots fired.
Read more:
A mass shooting is more likely in the US in a single day.
How do US gun laws work?
Listen: America’s Complicated Relationship With Guns
They arrived to find people “screaming” outside the ballroom dance studio, reportedly Star Dance Studio on Garvey Avenue, and several victims still inside.
Videos posted online showed officers cordoning off the area, firefighters tending to injured people and victims on stretchers being loaded into ambulances.
Seafood restaurant owner Seung Won Choi told the LA Times that three men entered his business and told him to close the door because one man had a machine gun and several rounds of ammunition outside.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Police at the scene of a shooting in California
Officers investigating the second incident
Captain Meyer said: “The Park Police Fire Department responded to the scene and treated the injured and pronounced 10 of the victims dead.
“There were at least 10 additional victims who were transported to multiple local hospitals and are listed in stable to critical condition.
“The suspect fled the scene and is outstanding.”
In an earlier update, police said nine people had been killed.
Captain Meyer also confirmed that investigators are looking into another incident at another dance studio nearby and are “trying to determine if there is a connection”.
The local community has been urged to remain vigilant while officers search for the suspect and try to determine the motive behind the attack.
Photo: TNLA/Handout via REUTERS
‘Home to one of the largest Asian communities’
In a tweet, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, an official in Los Angeles government, said his heart goes out to those who lost loved ones in a “mass shooting” tonight.
“Monterey Park is home to one of the largest Asian communities in Los Angeles County, and many were out to celebrate the Lunar New Year,” he added.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday afternoon for the two-day fair, considered one of the largest in the region.
On the first day, crowds were able to enjoy a variety of activities, see live entertainment and meet “hundreds of vendors” as part of the celebration, according to a notice from the City of Monterey Park.
for more News Click here