The Monterey mass shooter was once a dancer at the studio where he killed 10 people during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.
Huu Can Tran, 72, taught almost every night at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in the early 2000s when he lived five minutes away in the San Gabriel Valley.
Trans friends who have been close to the shooter since the early 2010s revealed to CNN that he was “hostile towards a lot of people” in the studio and believed they were saying “nasty things about him”.
The shooter’s ex-wife also revealed that she met Tran decades ago during a dance class and it wasn’t long before they tied the knot.
Five women and five men were killed and ten others injured in Saturday’s shooting. Tran died Sunday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after an altercation with police.
Huu Can Tran, 72, was teaching at the studio where he killed 10 people. He also met his ex-wife in the studio
Tran taught almost every night at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in the early 2000s when he lived just five minutes away in the San Gabriel Valley
Aside from teaching dance nearly five times a week, Tran was also a truck driver and incorporated a company, Tran’s Trucking Inc., from 2002 to 2004, according to documents obtained by CNN.
It’s unclear when Tran stopped teaching in the studio, but he moved to Hemet in 2013 after about 20 years in Los Angeles.
Trans friend lost contact with the gunman around the time he was moving and was shocked to hear about the massacre.
The friend also recalled that Tran was quick to anger and didn’t trust people.
Trans ex-wife, whose identity has not been released, said she was only married to the shooter for a short time before he filed for divorce in 2005.
She recalled the first time she met Tran and he offered her free dance lessons.
Trans love seemed to fade quickly when she claimed her former teacher had lost interest in her and was easily annoyed when she screwed up the choreography.
Her marriage certificate indicated that Tran is an immigrant from China.
Several casualties were reported after the shooting in California during the New Year celebrations
Police are seen Sunday swarming the van Tran he fled in after killing five women and five men and injuring another 10 people
He was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the van he fled after his attempt at a second shooting, which was foiled by “hero” patrons
Filming at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio was Trans’ first stop before 30 minutes later he headed to the Lai Lai Ballroom at the nearby Alhambra, where brave guests fought him off and took the gun.
Tran then fled the scene and was at large until Sunday, when police found him in the van he had used to escape the massacre.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna on Sunday identified Tran as the suspect and confirmed his motive is unknown.
“He intended to kill more people,” Luna said in a news conference Sunday night. “They saved lives,” he said of the patrons. “That could have been a lot worse.”
The exact ages of the victims were not disclosed, but Luna all appeared to be in their 50s. Seven of the wounded remained hospitalized, he said.
Tran was carrying a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, and a second pistol was discovered in the van where he was found dead, officials said
Aerial footage shows officers pulling unknown items from the white van after the standoff
Tran was carrying a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine, and a second pistol was discovered in the van where he was found dead, Luna added.
Earlier Sunday, police officers fanned out and entered the van after surrounding it for hours. They heard a gunshot and approached the van to find Trans’s body slumped over the steering wheel.
Before locating Tran, Luna said authorities were looking for a white van after witnesses reported the suspect fled the Alhambra in one such vehicle.
The shooting and manhunt sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities in the Los Angeles area and cast a shadow over Lunar New Year celebrations across the country. Other cities sent additional officers to oversee the celebrations.
Sunday Lunar New Year celebrations around the area of the mass shooting have been cancelled
Interior of the Star Ballroom in Monterey Park where filming took place on Saturday night
Community members danced and celebrated after a Lunar New Year celebration that ended about an hour before the shooting
Star Ballroom Dance Studio is a few blocks from City Hall on Garvey Avenue, Monterey Park’s main thoroughfare, which is dotted with small business malls with signs in both English and Chinese. Cantonese and Mandarin are both widely spoken, Chinese holidays are celebrated and Chinese films are regularly screened in the city.
The company offered dance lessons from tango to rumba to foxtrot and rented out its premises for events. On Saturday, the website said, it held an event called “Star Night” from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Officers arrived at the dance hall where gunfire had been reported just after 10 p.m. Saturday. Ten people were killed and ten injured.
The massacre was the nation’s fifth mass killing this month. It was also the deadliest attack since May 24, when 21 people were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.