LOS ANGELES: At least nine people were killed in a mass shooting in Monterey Park city in the western American state of California late on Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
“Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives are responding to assist Monterey Park Police Department with a shooting death investigation. There are nine deceased,” the department said in a brief statement.
“There is no additional information available at this time.”
The department said the suspect was male, but it was not clear if he was still at large.
Breaking: Devastating mass shooting in Monterey Park, California.
Reports claim +16 people shot and +10 dead. Suspect is not yet confirmed to be in custody. pic.twitter.com/44sqFMMgcr
— Brooke Goldstein (@GoldsteinBrooke) January 22, 2023
The shooting took place after 10:00 pm (0600 GMT on Sunday) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, US media reported.
Footage posted on social media showed injured people on stretchers being taken to ambulances by emergency staff. Around the scene of the shooting — reported to have been at a dance club — police guarded cordoned-off streets, the video showed.
“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighbouring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a tweet.
Tens of thousands of people had attended the festival earlier in the day.
The Los Angeles Times quoted the owner of a nearby restaurant as saying that people who sought shelter on his property told him there was a man with a machine gun in the area.
Seung Won Choi told the newspaper that he believed the shooting took place at a dance club.
Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people with a large Asian population that’s about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from downtown Los Angeles.
Saturday was the start of the two-day festival, which is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California.
— With AP
