11 Killed in Mass Shooting Near L.A., Suspect Dead
A gunman shot multiple people at a Chinese New Year celebration Saturday night in Monterey Park, California, a city just east of Los Angeles. 10 people died, 10 more were injured. Update, Monday afternoon: The death toll is now 11, as one of the injured died at a hospital Monday.
On Sunday, police in Torrance, California, a beach city south of L.A., approached a van matching one described as fleeing the scene of the crime. Heavily armed police found the driver dead inside, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police are not releasing the name of this person or confirming whether or not he matches descriptions of the person seen committing the mass shooting.
It's also unclear what motive the shooter may have had for the murders. Because the victims were predominantly Chinese Americans, in a city with an ethnically Asian majority population, at a Lunar New Year celebration, it was speculated early on that the motive may have been hate related. But then a community member who knew a person matching the suspect's description said the motive was jealousy- that the suspect may have shot 20 people, killing 10, because he was angry that his wife invited other people to a party but not him.
Is it better that this mass shooting might not be a hate crime? Like, can we all sleep better tonight knowing that the latest mass shooting the US was a normal mass murder?
Update, Sunday evening: Shortly after I initially posted this blog, police released the name of the man found dead in the white van and confirmed he was their suspect in the mass shooting. Per modern media standards I will not repeat the suspect's name so as not to raise publicity for him or his cause (whatever that might be). The suspect does seem to be a member of the same community the 20 shooting victims come from. Thus the focus of search for a motive shifts from the hypothesis that it could be an act of racial animus to likely being personal grievance.
Update, Monday noon: Police have identified two of the deceased by name. The remaining victims they have identified only by gender and age. What's chilling is that all 20 of them are/were older adults, age 50-80. This is a different kind of mass shooting than the ones we have sadly become accustomed to in the US, where the victims are often younger adults, teens, or even children. But then again, if we are forced to accept, "Nut with guns shoots up a classroom of grade-school children" as normal, how much different should, "Nut with guns shoots up a senior citizens' dance studio" be? 😖
On Sunday, police in Torrance, California, a beach city south of L.A., approached a van matching one described as fleeing the scene of the crime. Heavily armed police found the driver dead inside, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police are not releasing the name of this person or confirming whether or not he matches descriptions of the person seen committing the mass shooting.
It's also unclear what motive the shooter may have had for the murders. Because the victims were predominantly Chinese Americans, in a city with an ethnically Asian majority population, at a Lunar New Year celebration, it was speculated early on that the motive may have been hate related. But then a community member who knew a person matching the suspect's description said the motive was jealousy- that the suspect may have shot 20 people, killing 10, because he was angry that his wife invited other people to a party but not him.
Is it better that this mass shooting might not be a hate crime? Like, can we all sleep better tonight knowing that the latest mass shooting the US was a normal mass murder?
Update, Sunday evening: Shortly after I initially posted this blog, police released the name of the man found dead in the white van and confirmed he was their suspect in the mass shooting. Per modern media standards I will not repeat the suspect's name so as not to raise publicity for him or his cause (whatever that might be). The suspect does seem to be a member of the same community the 20 shooting victims come from. Thus the focus of search for a motive shifts from the hypothesis that it could be an act of racial animus to likely being personal grievance.
Update, Monday noon: Police have identified two of the deceased by name. The remaining victims they have identified only by gender and age. What's chilling is that all 20 of them are/were older adults, age 50-80. This is a different kind of mass shooting than the ones we have sadly become accustomed to in the US, where the victims are often younger adults, teens, or even children. But then again, if we are forced to accept, "Nut with guns shoots up a classroom of grade-school children" as normal, how much different should, "Nut with guns shoots up a senior citizens' dance studio" be? 😖