10 people were killed in a mass shooting after a Lunar New Year party celebration in Southern California.
Late Saturday night 10 people were killed in a mass shooting after a Lunar New Year party celebration at Monterey Park in California’s Los Angeles area.
10 more people were also wounded in the predominantly Asian city in southern California after which the suspect is at large.
Apparently, the gunman open fired at the crowd celebrating Lunar New Year which was attended by thousands of people.
The shooting was reported to have occurred at a store on Garvey Avenue at 10:22 PM according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Bob Boese.
According to Captain Andrew Meyers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to emergency calls around 10:20 PM and found people evacuating out of the premises.
He also added that the officers made entry into the location and located additional victims. The Monterey Park Police Fire Department treated the injured at the scene where 10 of the victims were pronounced dead.
“There are at least 10 additional victims that were transported to numerous local hospitals and are listed in various conditions from stable to critical. The suspect fled the scene and remains outstanding.”
According to social media footage, emergency staff were seen taking the injured people on stretchers in ambulances. The footage also showed the police guarding the cordoned-off streets where the scene occurred.
Monterey Park is located about 16 kilometers outside of the downtown Los Angeles area and is home to a population of about 61,000 people with the majority of them being Asian or Asian-American.
Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Meija said in a tweet that “Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighboring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Seung Won Choi, owner of a seafood barbecue restaurant near the scene said that three people ran inside his restaurant and ordered him to lock the door.
The owner is quoted by the paper saying that the people seeking shelter in his restaurant told him that a man with a machine gun was in the area.
This is another such occurrence of Gun Violence in the US which is proving to be the country’s biggest issue right now. Such incidents occur frequently across the country questioning the existence of the US’ lax gun laws.
According to Gun Violence Archive, last year the US experienced 647 mass shooting incidents.
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