ABC7 News: ‘There is a body in the driver’s seat of the van’
Minutes after SWAT officers were observed entering a van in Torrance, California, that a law enforcement officer described as a “barricaded suspect situation” related to the Monterey Park shooting, ABC7 News reported that reporters have seen a body in the driver’s seat of the van.
It has not been confirmed whether the person in the white van is the suspect in the Monterey Park shooting. The person in the van appears to dead.
Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference a few minutes ago said that law enforcement thought the person inside the van might be the shooting suspect, but that they had not yet confirmed it.
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LA Times: driver of white van dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound
Earlier today, multiple law enforcement vehicles, including Swat vehicles, surrounded a white van in Torrance, California, in what the Los Angeles sheriff described as a “barricaded suspect situation”. After an hours-long standoff, law enforcement officers finally entered the van, and local news reporters said there appeared to be a deceased body inside the opened vehicle.
The Los Angeles Times is now reporting that “multiple law enforcement sources” said that “the driver had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound”.
While officials said they believe the white van is linked to the Monterey Park shooting, it’s still not clear if the driver of the van is, in fact, the shooting suspect police are searching for.
“Could it be our suspect? Possibly,” Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier this afternoon. “We’re looking at any and every possibility.”
Reporters at the scene also noted bullet holes in the driver’s side window of the van before the Swat team entered the vehicle. It’s not yet clear if law enforcement officers fired at the driver, or if the driver attempted to shoot at them.
“At least two bullet holes had been visible in the driver’s-side window in the moments prior to [the SWAT team’s] approach, and the driver appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
Another local reporter on the scene in Torrance, Kristy Hutchings, said a law enforcement official told her that “the suspect in the white van shot and killed himself after being pulled over for a traffic stop this morning”.
BREAKING: Just confirmed with an anonymous source in law enforcement that the suspect in the white van shot and killed himself after being pulled over for a traffic stop this morning. The officers on site are waiting for the Sheriff’s dept to come take over the scene.
— Kristy Hutchings (she/her) (@krhutchings) January 22, 2023 Monterey Park shooting comes less than a year after attack on Taiwanese church
Less than a year ago, a 68-year-old man opened fire at a gathering of elderly parishoners organized by a Taiwanese American church in southern California, leaving five people injured and a 52-year-old doctor dead.
Authorities said more people might have been killed if not for the heroism of John Cheng, 52, who tackled the gunman, and allowed others to restrain him. Cheng, who was killed in the 15 May attack, had brought his elderly mother to the gathering.
Authorities said the shooting was “politically motivated” and that the suspect, who had Taiwanese roots, was inspired by anti-Taiwanese hate and upset about tensions between China and Taiwan.
The 68-year-old gunman had chained and glued the church doors closed, and also brought bomb materials, officials said at the time.
The alleged shooter faces hate crime as well as murder and attempted murder charges in this case.
The shooter pleaded not guilty and faces the death penalty if convicted of all charges, the Los Angeles Times reported last summer.
Abené Clayton
‘We…never heard about a shooting in Monterey Park before.’
It’s not yet clear whether a body found in a white van in Torrance, California, is the suspect in a deadly shooting in Monterey Park, California.
Local community residents are still waiting for any official word on the motive for a shooting that left ten people dead, and that happened not far from a popular lunar new year celebration in a majority-Asian American town outside of Los Angeles.
The suspect is an Asian man in his 30s to 50s, and appeared to have been involved in a second incident in a nearby Alhambra, law enforcement officials said.
A local Monterey Park man, Bing Hao, 25, was walking with some friends near the crime scene on Sunday afternoon and stopped to talk briefly, saying he was at the new year festival on Saturday morning.
“I heard a rumor that this was about an employee fired from the ballroom and is getting his revenge,” he told the Guardian. “I don’t know if that is true or not, but it was during lunar new year which is a really important day for Asian people, and people died, and now the next event got cancelled.”
“We live near here and never heard about a shooting in Monterey Park [before]. I felt shock, Asian people usually don’t carry guns. It’s new years, maybe save the hate for a different time – I’m not gonna come out at night, I’m going to stay home,” he added.
ABC7 News: ‘There is a body in the driver’s seat of the van’
Minutes after SWAT officers were observed entering a van in Torrance, California, that a law enforcement officer described as a “barricaded suspect situation” related to the Monterey Park shooting, ABC7 News reported that reporters have seen a body in the driver’s seat of the van.
It has not been confirmed whether the person in the white van is the suspect in the Monterey Park shooting. The person in the van appears to dead.
Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna said at a press conference a few minutes ago said that law enforcement thought the person inside the van might be the shooting suspect, but that they had not yet confirmed it.
Swat team entering van in Torrance
There’s a major law enforcement presence surrounding a van in Torrance, California, a city about a 40-minute drive from Monterey Park, where a shooter killed 10 people last night at a ballroom dance studio.
Swat team members are currently opening the door of the van, ABC7 News is reporting.
Another local reporter on the scene previously confirmed there was a bullet hole on the driver’s side window of the van. Sheriff Robert Luna said a few minutes ago that law enforcement had not yet confirmed if the shooting suspect is inside the van.
CORRECTION: @BrittanyMMurray says the bullet is through the drivers side window – not the windshield. Waiting on her to send over her photos now. Will update asap.
— Kristy Hutchings (she/her) (@krhutchings) January 22, 2023 Updates on the Monterey Park shooting: photo of suspect but no motive or name
There are still more questions than answers about the shooting in Monterey Park last night that left ten people dead, and reporters pressed sheriff Robert Luna during a press confernce just after noon local time about the lack of additional new information.
Law enforcement officials have the name of the shooter but are “withholding the name,” in order to help them apprehend the suspect more rapidly, Luna said. They have released an image of the shooter so the public can provide any information about his whereabouts, Luna said.
Law enforcement does not yet know the motive for the shooting, Luna confirmed, and it’s not yet clear if any additional suspects were involved. “We’re looking at every angle, whether it’s domestic violence, the question was asked earlier about a hate crime,” Luna said.
“We believe” that the shooter in Monterey Park was also involved in a second incident in the area, Luna said, though he said he could not confirm the connection definitively. The images of the suspect the department has released came from the second location, he said.
On the weapon used in the shooting: “It’s not a high-powered assault rifle, but I don’t want to get into the specifics on the weapon,” Luna said. Both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have reported, citing anonymous law enforcement sources briefed on the incident, that the shooter did use a military-style rifle. It’s not clear if the suspect might have used multiple weapons.
‘The impact of trauma…goes on for a very long time’
The motive for the deadly shooting in Monterey Park remains unclear, Los Angeles county district attorney George Gascón said in a press conference more than 12 hours after the shooting
Regardless of the motive for teh shooting, “When one of us is attacked, we’re all here together,” Gascón said.
Mental health and other resources for survivors of the shooting would be available in the coming days and weeks, he said.
“The impact of trauma from this event goes on from a very long time,” Gascón said.
News conference: not clear if shooting suspect is in standoff in Torrance, sheriff said.Abené Clayton reporting from Monterey Park:
More than 12 hours after a mass shooting at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park left ten people dead, law enforcement said they are not yet naming the suspect, and that it’s not yet clear whether he has been apprehended in Torrance, where law enforcement vehicles have surrounded a white cargo van for the past hour.
The standoff in Torrance is a “barricaded suspect situation,” Los Angeles County sheriff Robert Luna. “We believe that there is a person inside the vehicle. We don’t know their condition, but we’re going to handle that in the safest manner that we possibly can” he said.
“Could it be our suspect? Possibly,” he said. “We’re looking at any and every possibility.”
Reports from van standoff in Torrance: shots previously fired, bomb squad on scene
A bomb squad has appeared on the scene in Torrance where law enforcement are surrounding a white cargo van that may be linked to the Monterey Park shooting, ABC7 News reported.
Shots were fired at that scene, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing law enforcement officials, though it’s not clear whether shots were fired by law enforcement or by a suspect.
Law enforcement officials on scene have appeared to relax their vigilance and are operating closer to the white van, local news anchors observed, suggesting they may believe that any suspect inside the vehicle has been incapacitated.
So far, there has been very little official confirmaton of what’s happening on the ground Torrance, including whether the shooting suspect is in fact inside the van.
Less than an hour ago, the Los Angeles county sheriff released photos of the shooting suspect, describing him as Asian man, 5’10”, and that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv
— Robert Luna (@LACoSheriff) January 22, 2023 On the ground in Torrance, many streets are closed off, and local residents are parking at nearby shopping malls and are standing nearby to watch the scene, even as police urge them to back away, ABC7 News reporter Sophie Flay reported.
Grief and cancelled celebration in Monterey Park
As community members wait for an update on whether law enforcement officers have located the suspect in last night’s deadly mass shooting in Monterey Park, the city has cancelled its popular downtown lunar new year festivities.
Locals are telling journalists on the scene they feel shaken and anxious as the shooting has disrupted daily life in a very quiet town.
Cannot underscore what a quiet LA suburb Monterey Park is normally.
Two-thirds Asian, it’s a landing spot for many immigrants from China like Jun Wang, who was anxious about getting to his restaurant job but couldn’t get past the police tape. pic.twitter.com/j1Bq8qYb6m
— Josie Huang (@josie_huang) January 22, 2023 A lot of confusion, shock, and anger in #MontereyPark Some people we’re seeing near the mass shooting scene are crying, unclear whether they’re family members. A lot of people standing around, trying to make sense of this @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/fvObgMaL2J
— Josh Haskell (@abc7JoshHaskell) January 22, 2023 Local news footage shows law enforcement surrounding white van
Live news footage from ABC7 News in California continues to show law enforcement surrounding a white cargo van that may be linked to the Monterey Park shooting. It’s not clear if the shooting suspect is in the van. An ABC7 News anchor noted that law enforcement officials at this scene, who had appeared in defensive postures a few minutes ago, are now walking around the van in a way that suggests they do not believe a person inside the van presents an active threat. Two SWAT vehicles are currently boxing in the white van.
A news conference with additional details on the case is expected at noon outside Monterey Park’s city hall. The press conference has been pushed back several times as the situation in Torrance is unfolding.
Other local news reporters have details on the scene in Torrance:
I’m on scene in Torrance where there’s a standoff ongoing – gentle confirmation from the Torrance PD a that this is intact the Monterey Park shooting suspect pic.twitter.com/XHGM9fgXhB
— Kristy Hutchings (she/her) (@krhutchings) January 22, 2023 An LASD chopper just landed in the Amazon Go parking lot directly across the street from where the stand off is happening. Tons of onlookers are being pushed away from the scene by authorities on scene. They’re saying there’s a “hazmat” threat. pic.twitter.com/i1tRBRtwg8
— Kristy Hutchings (she/her) (@krhutchings) January 22, 2023 The Los Angeles Times reported that “shots were fired” on the scene at Torrance, according to law enforcement sources. “It was who was in the car or whether there were any injuries,” the Times reported.
A bomb squad appeared on the scene in Torrance shortly after noon local time, possibly to check the white van for explosives, ABC7 News reported.
Law enforcement releases images of Monterey Park shooting suspect
As local news helicopters monitor law enforcement vehicles surrounding a white van in Torrance, California, the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department has released photographs of a suspect in the Monterey Park shooting, describing him as an Asian male, and as armed and dangerous.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv
— Robert Luna (@LACoSheriff) January 22, 2023 News helicopters show law enforcement surrounding a white van in TorranceABC7 News had images of law enforcement vehicles boxing in a white van in Torrance, California, and reports that “authorities believe it is possible” the Monterey Park suspect is inside.
In a news conference this morning, sheriff Robert Luna said that authorities were searching for a white cargo van, and that an assailant in a potentially related incident had escaped in a white van.