The man accused of gunning down 11 people and wounding nine others in Monterey Park, California had been stockpiling ammunition and was making homemade gun silencers inside his home, authorities revealed Monday.
Law enforcement officers and federal agents executed a search warrant at Huu Can Tran’s mobile home inside a gated senior community in Hemet, roughly 85 miles southeast of Monterey Park, Sunday evening.
Inside, investigators found a .308 caliber rifle, items indicating he was manufacturing homemade firearm suppressors, “numerous electronic devices” including cell phones and computers, and unknown amount of .308 and 9mm caliber ammunition, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at news conference.
“The (munitions) were in containers and there were hundreds of rounds. We don’t know exactly how much,” Luna said.
Authorities say Tran, 72, walked into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park late Saturday night and opened fire with 9mm MAC-10 assault firearm. Ten people died at the scene and an 11th victim succumbed to their wounds at LAC+USC Medical Center on Monday.
After leaving the Star Ballroom, authorities say Tran went to another dance studio in Alhambra where he was disarmed by an employee and fled in a white cargo van.
The manhunt came to an end late Sunday morning when officials say Tran took his own life when officers surrounded his van in Torrance.
On Monday, Hemet Police revealed that Tran visited police headquarters twice in early January and made bizarre allegations about his family.
“Tran visited the Hemet Police Department lobby on January 7 and 9, 2023, alleging past fraud, theft, and poisoning allegations involving his family in the Los Angeles area 10 to 20 years ago,” police said. “Tran stated he would return to the station with documentation regarding his allegations but never returned.”
Pat Roth, a neighbor in the senior community, said Tran had lived there for about a year.
“Tran was just a nice guy. I would see him riding his little, small motorcycle in and out, once in a while in his van,” Roth told Inland News. “He would stop to pet your dog, and everybody around here just thought he was just some quiet, little guy. The people I’ve talked to are just stunned that he was involved in this.”
Community leaders speculate that Tran may have been motivated by jealousy.
Chester Chong, chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles, told NewsNation that conversations within the Asian community indicate Huu Can Tran was upset that a love interest was invited to a Lunar New Year event at the dance studio while he was not.
“The husband not going and then the big festival and (Lunar) New Year…he feels alone…sad… upset and very jealous that they take a gun and shoot people,” Chong explained in broad terms and broken English.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, however, warned against jumping to any conclusions.
“Its second and third hand information,” Luna said. “It seems like a lot of people definitely have opinions. Everybody has a perspective, but what we’re finding out is, it’s not supported by facts or evidence.”
Tran’s former wife told CNN that Tran had been a regular patron at the Star Ballroom where the two first met many years ago when he offered to give her informal dance lessons. They were married soon after, but divorced in 2005, CNN reported.
It was unclear how frequently Tran had visited the dance studio in recent years.
