Monterey Park massacre death toll rises to 11 as two victims are identified
( NYPost )
The death toll in California’s ballroom bloodbath rose to 11 on Monday when a wounded victim succumbed to their injuries, authorities said — as two other slain people were identified.
“Despite our best efforts, we are saddened to share that one of the victims has succumbed to their extensive injuries,” said Jorge Orozco, CEO of the LAC+USC Medical Center, in a statement. “We want to express our deepest sympathies to their families and loved ones.”
The tragic development came as it surfaced that two women — My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63 — were among those murdered in the Monterey Park massacre by Huu Can Tran, who later killed himself in a dramatic standoff with police in nearby Torrance.
Nhan’s family, who called her Mymy, said Monday that she was the first one killed in the slaughter — and that the tragedy is “still sinking in.
“She spent so many years going to the dance studio in Monterey Park on weekends,” they wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. “It’s what she loved to do.
“But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance.
“We are starting the Lunar New Year broken. We never imagined her life would end so suddenly,” said the statement signed by “The Nhan and Quan Family.”
“Mymy was 65 years old. If you knew her, you knew her warm smile and kindness was contagious. She was a loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend. Mymy was our biggest cheerleader.”
The family also thanked their neighbors and community for their thoughts, prayers and support.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said the other unnamed victims include a woman in her 50s, two women in their 60s, two men in their 60s and three men in their 70s.
The age and gender of the 11th victim, whose death was announced by the Los Angeles County Department of Health, is unknown.
Orozco said one of the three injured victims remaining at his hospital is in “serious condition,” while two patients are “recovering.”
Tran, 72, acted alone when he opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio late Saturday with a semi-automatic pistol, killing 11 and wounding at least 10 others, police said. He then stormed another dancehall, Lai Lai, but was disarmed by a heroic civilian before he could inflict further damage.
The shooter’s motive has not been officially confirmed, but a local law enforcement source told LA Magazine that he was “looking for his wife” and that it increasingly appears the slaughter was domestic violence-related.
Records show Tran, who immigrated from China, filed for divorce from his wife in 2005. The ex-wife told CNN the pair met at Star Ballroom, where Tran was a regular.
She also said her ex-husband was “hostile to a lot of people there,” complained the instructors didn’t like him and said “evil things about him.”
The shooting occurred in Monterey Park, a majority Asian American city of 60,000 that was hosting its annual Lunar New Year celebration when the mass shooting occurred.