Case file
2023 Monterey Park shooting
On the night of January 21, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, a city in the San Gabriel Valley with a majority Asian American population. The attack took place at about 10:22 p.m. PST, after an all-day Lunar New Year festival had drawn tens of thousands of people to a nearby street. The studio was hosting a Lunar New Year countdown dance party unaffiliated with the festival. Police responded within three minutes of the first 9-1-1 call and found people fleeing and screaming. Ten people were pronounced dead at the scene, and ten others were taken to hospitals; an eleventh victim later died at LAC+USC Medical Center. The gunman fired 42 rounds using a Cobray M-11/9 semi-automatic pistol with an illegal high-capacity magazine, purchased in Monterey Park in 1999 but never registered.
Approximately 17 minutes after fleeing Monterey Park, the gunman entered the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in nearby Alhambra, apparently intending to continue the attack. Brandon Tsay, whose family owns the business, confronted the gunman in the lobby, wrestled the weapon from him, and chased him off the premises. Authorities credited Tsay with preventing further deaths. The seized weapon allowed police to identify the suspect as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran.
Tran fled in a stolen van. Police took several hours to publicly announce that a suspect was at large, a delay the city's new police chief attributed to concerns about accuracy and about alarming the largely Asian American community based on limited descriptive information. On the morning of January 22, police located and stopped a matching van in Torrance, roughly 22 miles from Alhambra. As officers approached, they heard a gunshot from inside the vehicle and retreated to call in tactical units. During the ensuing standoff, officers observed Tran slumped over the steering wheel; he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The ten victims who died at the scene were Valentino Marcos Alvero, 68; Hongying Jian, 62; Yu Lun Kao, 72; Lilan Li, 63; Ming Wei Ma, 72 (the studio's owner and manager); Mymy Nhan, 65; Muoi Dai Ung, 67; Chia Ling Yau, 76; Wen-Tau Yu, 64; and Xiujuan Yu, 57. Diana Man Ling Tom, 70, died the following day at the hospital. Witnesses reported that Ma was the first to rush the gunman and was killed, and that another victim, Yu Lan Kao, was killed while shielding others.
A search of Tran's Hemet residence after the shooting recovered a bolt-action rifle, ammunition, items suggesting suppressor manufacturing, and a letter addressed to law enforcement whose contents were not released. Tran had a documented history of paranoid complaints to police over several decades, including allegations of poisoning and threats, and had visited the Hemet police station days before the shooting with similar claims. The shooting became the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles County history. In January 2025, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of several victims against Tran's estate and the Star Ballroom, alleging failure to protect patrons.
Key facts
- Victims
- Yu Lun Kao, Valentino Marcos Alvero, Diana Man Ling Tom, Lilan Li, Xiujuan Yu, Muoi Dai Ung, Mymy Nhan, Chia Ling Yau, Ming Wei Ma, Wen-Tau Yu, Hongying Jian
- Date
- 2023
- Location
- Star Ballroom Dance Studio, Monterey Park, California
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1999
The Cobray M-11/9 pistol later used in the shooting was purchased in Monterey Park but never registered.
2020
Huu Can Tran bought a mobile home in Hemet, California, where he lived at the time of the shooting.
2023-01-07
Tran visited the Hemet police station alleging his family was poisoning him and trying to steal his money.
2023-01-21
At about 10:22 p.m. PST, gunfire erupted at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, killing ten people at the scene and injuring nine others.
2023-01-21
Approximately 17 minutes later, the gunman entered the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, where Brandon Tsay disarmed him.
2023-01-22
An eleventh victim, Diana Man Ling Tom, died at LAC+USC Medical Center from injuries sustained in the shooting.
2023-01-22
Around 10:20 a.m., police stopped the gunman's van in Torrance; he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during the subsequent standoff.
2025-01
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of victims against Tran's estate and the Star Ballroom, alleging failure to protect patrons.
Best coverage
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People
Robert Luna
LAW ENFORCEMENTLos Angeles County Sheriff who provided information on the weapon and gunman's description during the investigation.
Yu Lun Kao
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 72; reported to have shielded others from gunfire.
Valentino Marcos Alvero
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 68.
Diana Man Ling Tom
VICTIMDied at LAC+USC Medical Center the day after the attack, age 70.
Lilan Li
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 63.
Scott Wiese
LAW ENFORCEMENTMonterey Park police chief who explained the delay in public notification about the at-large suspect.
Brandon Tsay
LAW ENFORCEMENTCivilian who disarmed the gunman at the Lai Lai Ballroom in Alhambra, preventing further shooting; later honored by police and public officials for his actions.
Huu Can Tran
CHARGEDIdentified by law enforcement as the gunman responsible for the Monterey Park shooting and the Alhambra incident; died by self-inflicted gunshot wound before facing formal prosecution.
Xiujuan Yu
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 57.
Muoi Dai Ung
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 67.
Mymy Nhan
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 65.
Chia Ling Yau
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 76.
Ming Wei Ma
VICTIMOwner and manager of Star Ballroom, killed at age 72 after reportedly being first to rush the shooter.
Wen-Tau Yu
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 64.
Hongying Jian
VICTIMKilled at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, age 62.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
unclassified
Brandon Tsay
Credit: President Joe Biden · Public domain · Source
wanted poster
HuuCanTranLACSD
Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department · Public domain · Source
archival location
V20230125LJ-0500 (52864854931)
Credit: The White House · Public domain · Source
archival location
V20230125LJ-0503 (53894193408)
Credit: The White House · Public domain · Source
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On January 21, 2023, a gunman killed eleven people and injured nine others at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, following a Lunar New Year festival, before being disarmed at a second location and dying by suicide during a police standoff the next day.
- Where did the shooting happen?
- Star Ballroom Dance Studio, Monterey Park, California.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
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Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDIC2023 Monterey Park shootingWikipedia · 2026-07-07
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — CNNCNN · 2026-07-07
Record history
- First published
- JUL 07, 2026
- Last verified against sources
- JUL 07, 2026