California shooting death toll rises as authorities identify victims

California police have begun an investigation as to what compelled the suspect, identified as Huu Can Tran, to indiscriminately shoot people as they celebrated Lunar New Year at a dance hall in the Los Angeles suburbs.

The death toll rose to 11 Monday after health officials announced that one of the 10 people wounded had died, the LA County Department of Health Services said.
AFP

The death toll rose to 11 Monday after health officials announced that one of the 10 people wounded had died, the LA County Department of Health Services said.

The Los Angeles county coroner's office has begun identifying the 11 people killed in the Lunar New Year massacre inside a popular dance parlour in Monterey Park, California.

Ten victims died at the scene of the Saturday shooting. Authorities on Monday said an 11th person died while being treated at a local hospital.

The coroner's office confirmed the names of two women - My Nhan, 65, and Lilan Li, 63 - who were among the patrons who died in Saturday's shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio.

While not releasing the other victims' names, the coroner's office said the five women and five men who were killed were all in their 50, 60s and 70s. No information was immediately made available about the 11th victim.

Nhan's family said in a written statement released on Twitter that "we are starting the Lunar New Year broken." They said Nhan, whom they remembered for her warm smile and kindness, had visited the dance studio on weekends for many years.

"It's what she loved to do," they said.

"But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance."

Friends and frequenters of the ballroom identified another victim as Ming Wei Ma, believed to be in his 60s. He was a frequent presence at the dance studio, and friends told a CBS affiliate that he was among the first to rush the shooter.

"He was just caring, an 'others first, people first' kind of person," Ma's friend Eric Chen told local media.

Lauren Woods, a tango dance instructor at the ballroom, said Ma was "the heart" of the studio.

Woods wrote on her Facebook profile that Ma would greet her with a kiss on the cheek and say "my teacher! My teacher!" and "Love you! Love you!"

Other victims' identifications were withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The coroner's office said one woman who died was in her 50s and two other women, in addition to the ones identified, were in their 60s. Three men killed were in their 70s and two were in their 60s. 

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