Greater Los Angeles: Ten dead by gunshots at New Year's celebrations

As of: 01/22/2023 3:06 p.m

Ten people were killed on the fringes of a Chinese New Year celebration in a Los Angeles suburb. According to the police, a man shot himself. The perpetrator is therefore on the run.

According to police reports, ten people were shot dead in Monterey Park, an eastern suburb of Los Angeles in the US state of California – ten others were injured, at least one person seriously. According to the information, a man fired the shots at a Chinese New Year festival that was being celebrated by a large number of people in a club.

At least 10 people die after shooting near Los Angeles

tagesschau24 1 p.m., 22.1.2023

Suspected shooter on the run

According to police, officers arrived at the scene around 10:10 p.m. local time after an emergency call on Saturday evening, where they discovered the bodies of ten people. “When officers arrived at the scene, they saw numerous people, visitors to the venue, erupting screaming from the premises,” said Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office. The alleged perpetrator was able to flee. The search for the man continues. According to media reports, the police cordoned off the area around the club. Los Angeles investigators are on site to assist the police.

So far, the authorities have not published a description of the suspect and have not given any information about the murder weapon. The investigators wanted to evaluate recordings from surveillance cameras. It is also too early to say whether the act should be classified as a hate crime, Meyer said. It is also unclear whether there is a connection between the crime in Monterey Park and a gun incident in the neighboring city of Alhambra.

The suburb of Monterey Park is located about eight miles from downtown Los Angeles.

Eyewitnesses report semi-automatic rifles

Eyewitnesses had reported that a man had fired around with a semi-automatic rifle. The owner of a restaurant near the crime scene said three people ran into his place and asked him to lock the door. They said the shooter carried so much ammunition that he could reload over and over again.

A local resident said, according to the Los Angeles Times, that his girlfriend was in the bathroom at the club when she heard gunshots. She later saw an armed man and three bodies – believed to be two women and the owner of the club.

Approximately eight miles from downtown Los Angeles

Monterey Park is a city of approximately 60,000 people with a large Asian population. The suburb is about eight miles from downtown Los Angeles. One of Southern California’s biggest festivals began yesterday in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Gun violence is a big problem in the US. The country has more guns than people: one in three adults owns at least one gun and almost one in two adults lives in a household where there is a gun. Gun law is one of the most contentious issues in the United States. While President Joe Biden’s Democrats generally advocate stricter gun laws, opposition Republicans oppose it. They insist on the fundamental right to gun ownership enshrined in the US Constitution.