California Mass Shooting: Potential Motive, Revealed

The primary emphasis of the investigation into the California mass shooting in Monterey Park is on the shooter's prior connections with the two dance studios he targeted, as well as the possibility that jealousy over a romantic relationship played a role in the tragedy, officials say.

Several sources emphasized that this probe was just getting started.

The suspect, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was a regular at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park and the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra.

The Monterey Park shooting may have been the result of a personal dispute, according to Los Angeles Times.

"We're hearing those things too but have not confirmed any of that information," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday at a news conference. "It's part of what our investigators are diligently looking into."

Law officials have reported that in the weeks leading up to the Monterey Park shooting, Tran was experiencing an escalation of unspecified emotional problems.

He allegedly made two separate visits to the Hemet Police Department lobby on January 7 and 9, alleging fraud and theft and claiming his family had tried to poison him in the Los Angeles region one or two decades ago, according to Alan Reyes, a representative for the Hemet Police Department.

Reyes claims that Tran promised to return with proof but never did.

It will take investigators a few weeks to piece together what transpired. Starting on Sunday, detectives began executing search warrants at various sites.

James Densley, co-founder and president of the Violence Project, which keeps tabs on mass shootings, noted that Tran's age was uncommon among the country's roster of mass shooters, who tended to be younger.

According to Densley, Tran is the oldest shooter in the organization's database, which dates to 1966.

Personal grudges are less likely to have been the shooter's motivation. About a third of mass murderers, according to Densely, have a history of domestic violence, and there have been instances of "domestic spillage," in which domestic violence has led to the deaths of other people.

California Mass Shooting Victims Identified

The LA County Coroner Medical Examiner's Office released a statement revealing the ages of all 11 people killed in the Lunar New Year shooting in Monterey Park, California.

The coroner's office released Tuesday the names of the victims, which included five males and six female, CNN noted

The female victims were Hong Jian, 62; Xiujuan Yu, 57; My Nhan, 65; Lilian Li, 63; Diana Tom, 70; and Muoi Ung, 67.

The male victims were identified as Valentino Alvero, 68; Wen Yu, 64; Ming Ma, 72; Yu Kao, 72; and Chia Yau, 76.

The city mayor has warned that the path to recovery will be long as authorities try to discover what motivated the Monterey Park shooting.

"People are just in disbelief and shock and are feeling very numb," Mayor Henry Lo told CNN on Monday night.

California Mass Shooting Hero Speaks Out

The party was winding down that night when Brandon Tsay said the front door close behind him at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, California.

"That's when I turned around and saw that there was an Asian man holding a gun. My first thought was I was going to die here; this is it," Tsay, 26, said during an interview Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Tsay, whose family runs the dance hall, claimed the gunman looked around the room as though he was seeking targets.

The man was preparing the weapon, and something came over him, Tsay said, stating that when he found the man was armed, he knew he had to disarm the man, or everyone could have been killed.

"When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon, and we had a struggle," he said, adding that they struggled into the lobby and tried to keep the gun away from them while the man was hitting him across the face and back of his head.

Tsay later learned that the shooter was Huu Can Tran, who opened fire 20 minutes earlier at a different dance studio nearby Monterey Park, killing eleven people and injuring ten more.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Moment 'hero' disarms Monterey Park shooting suspect - seizing gun and telling him to get out - From The Telegraph