Survivor of Monterey Park Shooting Says Dance Partner Died Shielding Her With His Body

A police officer gets out of his vehicle near a ballroom dance club in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2023. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

A survivor of the Monterey Park mass shooting described the harrowing scene after 10 people were killed on Saturday, and recounted how her dance partner shielded her with his body and died from gunshot wounds.

A gunman identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran opened fire at the Star Dance Studio on West Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park near the end of that day’s Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, killing 10 people and injuring at least 10 more.

One of the survivors, identified only as Shally, told Los Angeles ABC station KABC that a good friend of hers that she'd been dancing with regularly for around 10 years saved her life by stepping into the line of fire and taking a bullet.

Shally said that she and her 62-year-old dance partner, who she did not wish to identify, were dancing the jive when the gunman entered the studio and opened fire.

Investigators are seen outside Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2023. Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

In the ensuing chaos, she and her dance partner dove under a table to hide, she said, adding that he had likely already been shot but just hadn’t realized it yet.

Shally said the shooter left the building to get more ammunition before returning and continuing to fire.

After the gunman fled the scene, Shally said she turned to her partner, who seemed to be unconscious. She said she tried to wake him and noticed blood on her hands.

Shally said she realized her partner had been shot in the back as he shielded her with his body.

“He was dead,” she told the outlet.

Of the 10 people wounded in the shooting, seven remained hospitalized on Sunday night, with at least one in critical condition.

People come together in a prayer as members of the community hold a prayer vigil near the scene of a shooting that took place in Monterey Park, California, on Jan. 22, 2023. Allison Dinner/Reuters

What’s Known About the Incident

Police said that the gunman entered the Star Ballroom Dance Studio at around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday and opened fire.

A 30-year-old woman who was celebrating the Lunar New Year at her parent’s house nearby said she heard the shots but thought they were fireworks.

“A lot of older people live here, it’s usually really quiet,” Tiffany Chiu said. “This is not something you expect here.”

After the gunman left the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, he tried to carry out another shooting at a separate club in Alhambra around 20 minutes later but authorities said bystanders wrested the gun away from him and he ran off.

“I can tell you that the suspect walked in there, probably with the intent to kill more people, and two brave community members decided they were going to jump into action and disarm him,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters at a briefing Sunday.

Brandon Tsay, who manages the family-run dance hall in Alhambra, was the one who managed to disarm the gunman, according to The New York Times.

“That moment, it was primal instinct,” he told the outlet. “Something happened there. I don’t know what came over me.”

Tsay and his family told the outlet that security camera footage shows it was he alone, not two individuals like police said, that managed to disarm the suspect.

After Tsay took the gun away, the suspect fled.

The suspected gunman, who was driving a white van, was on Sunday cornered by authorities in Torrance and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Members of a SWAT team enter a van and look through its contents in Torrance, Calif., on Jan. 22, 2023. Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo

Luna said that police sandwiched the driver and van with tactical vehicles and bomb squad trucks after pursuing him into a shopping center.

He said officers then heard a gunshot and after moving in on the vehicle, they found the driver slumped over the steering wheel.

Video shared online showed the moment police swarmed the vehicle.

Authorities later identified the shooting suspect as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, with Luna saying that evidence in the van linked the vehicle to the shooting.

This combination image created using photos provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shows a male suspect allegedly involved in a shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., on Jan. 21, 2023. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department via AP

Unclear Motive

Investigators have not commented on a possible motive but a prominent member of the local community said they believe it could be related to a domestic dispute.

Chester Chong, a community leader in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, told ABC7 that the suspect’s wife was invited to the dance studio event without him, saying that jealousy could be involved in the tragedy.

None of the victims have been identified, though Luna told reporters that the five men and five women appeared to be over 50 years old.

President Joe Biden has offered his condolences.

“While there is still much we don’t know about the motive in this senseless attack, we do know that many families are grieving tonight, or praying that their loved one will recover from their wounds,” he said in a statement.

Monterey Park has a large population of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, and is located about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.