The Chinese Consulate General in the U.S. city of Los Angeles confirmed Monday that at least one Chinese national was killed last Sunday in the shooting that took place during the Chinese New Year celebration in the town of Monterey Park, California.
«It is now confirmed that, unfortunately, a Chinese national was killed in the incident. We are working with relevant national departments and the United States to help deal with the aftermath,» the consular body described in a statement.
The Consulate General spokesman has described as «shocking and deeply regrettable» the shooting at the Lunar New Year celebration, an important holiday for «overseas Chinese.»
To express their condolences to the local Chinese community, the Chinese Embassy and consulates in the United States have flown their flags at half-mast.
At least ten people were killed and ten more injured in a shooting at the end of Chinese New Year celebrations at a ballroom in the city of Monterey Park, east of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
The incident began about an hour after the conclusion of the celebration, around 22.30 local time (07.30 in Spain), when most of the tens of thousands of attendees had already left, according to witnesses quoted by the CBS affiliate in Los Angeles, KCAL News.
In fact, some witnesses reported that they thought the shots were fireworks, so at first they did not give them much importance.
The man responsible for the mass shooting, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, was found lifeless inside a van by police. The driver of the vehicle had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, although authorities do not know at this time the motive for the incident. «The investigation continues: we want to know how something so horrible could happen,» said a police officer.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
