California gunman, 72, found dead after killing 10 

The gunman – who killed 10 people at a ballroom dance studio near Los Angeles – has been identified by police as Huu Can Tran, 72. 

He was found dead in a white van, hours after the mass killing, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The shooting took place as celebrations for Lunar New Year had been underway in Monterey Park. 

Ten people were injured in the shooting and seven remain in hospital, some in a critical condition, the sheriff said in a news conference. 

Police have not yet identified the motive. 

He said the 10 people who died are still being identified, but they “seem to be probably in their 50s, 60s and some maybe even beyond there.” 

Officials say five women and five men have been killed – all “probably” of Asian descent. 

California deadly mass shooting 

The mass shooting is one of the deadliest in California’s history. It began at around 22:22 local time at the popular Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, about 7 miles east of central LA. 

Police Chief Scott Wiese said that his officers found a “scene of carnage” and that some of the first officers to get there were some of the youngest on his team. 

“They came across a scene none of them have prepared for,” he said. “There were injured people inside and dead people inside. My young officers did their job.”

About 30 minutes after the shooting, he arrived at another dance studio in the nearby town of Alhambra. 

He entered the studio, but two people managed to get the weapon off of him – a semi-automatic assault pistol with an extended magazine – and he escaped.

Sheriff Luna said he believes the weapon is illegal in California, although said they needed to investigate that further. 

He praised the “two community members, who I consider to be heroes. They saved lives, this could’ve been much worse,” the sheriff said, adding that he believes Tran intended to kill more people.

Manhunt after shooting

The gunman was on the run for about 12 hours after the shooting on Sunday. 

Just before 13:00 local time, a SWAT team surrounded a white van in a car park in Torrance, about 30 miles from the Monterey Park shooting scene. 

Police heard a single shot from inside the van as they approached and then found the suspect slumped over the steering wheel. 

A handgun was recovered and the man was identified as the gunman. He is believed to have acted alone.