After a large-scale Lunar New Year event that drew hundreds of people, a mass shooting occurred late Saturday in a community east of Los Angeles, killing nine people, according to police.
The incident was reported at a store on Garvey Ave. in Monterey Park around 10:22 p.m., according to Sgt. Bob Boese of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Boese reported early on Sunday that the shooter is a male.
After hundreds of police officers responded to reports of the shooting, officials remained silent for several hours.
The distance between downtown Los Angeles and the city of Monterey Park, which has a population of roughly 60,000, is about 10 miles (16 kilometers).
The Clam House seafood BBQ restaurant’s owner, Seung Won Choi, told the Los Angeles Times that three people barged into his place of business and ordered him to lock the door after the shooting.
Additionally, the locals informed Choi that there was a gunman with a machine gun who was carrying a number of bullets so he could reload. Choi asserted that he thinks a dance club was the scene of the shooting.
The two-day festival, one of the biggest Lunar New Year celebrations in Southern California, began on Saturday.
