Security camera footage from a dance hall in Alhambra, California, shows the moment when Brandon Tsay, 26, managed to disarm Huu Can Tran, 72, the gunman who shortly before had killed 10 people in an attack in the city of Monterey Park—an 11th victim later died of his injuries.
The video obtained by the American broadcaster NBC News shows the shooter in one of the rooms of the dance hall on Saturday night (21). Huu is apparently lurking in one of the doorways of the place, carrying a long barreled gun.
Tsay then gets into a physical fight with the gunman, trying to take the gun away from him. The dispute lasts just over 20 seconds, at the end of which Huu seems to give up trying to retrieve the weapon and leaves the place.
In an interview with The New York Times, he said he was in an office at the dance studio when he heard metallic sounds in the studio and went to check the source, finding the semi-automatic weapon pointed at him.
“He was looking at me and looking around, making no bones about the fact that he was trying to do something bad,” said Tsay, whose family owns and operates the dance hall. “His eyes were menacing. From his body language, his facial expression, his eyes, he was looking for people.”
At that point, Tsay still didn’t know about the attack that had taken place in Monterey Park, about two miles from the dance studio. “At that moment, it was a primal instinct. Something happened there, I don’t know what came over me.”
Huu was found dead of suicide inside a van hours later, on Sunday afternoon (22). The motives for the crime are still unknown, but as the investigation progresses, details about the shooter’s life are being released.
In the early 2000s, he was teaching dance classes at the nightclub he targeted in Monterey Park. People who were close to him described him as a man of hostile behavior. His ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2005, told police that she also met him at a dance class and that he was easily angered.
Monterey Park, where 65% of the population is of Asian descent, is 7 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The gunman opened fire around 10:20 pm on Saturday (3:20 am on Sunday in Brasilia) and then went to the Alhambra hall, where he was disarmed. Authorities claim he was likely intent on a second attack and describe Tsay’s action as heroic.
Seven people were killed in a second shooting on Monday in Half Moon Bay, California. The suspect, identified as Zhao Chunli, 67, was detained. He was found in a car in a police station parking lot.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was at the hospital meeting with victims of the Monterey Park attack when he received news of the new incident. “Tragedy upon tragedy,” he said.
US President Joe Biden said local authorities will receive all necessary assistance for crimes to be investigated. This Tuesday (24), the White House issued a statement in which it sympathizes with the victims and their families and again presses Congress to respond more firmly to armed violence.
“Even as we await more details about these shootings, we know that the plague of gun violence across America requires stronger action. I once again urge both Houses of Congress to act quickly and take action to maintain communities, schools, places workplaces and safe American homes,” the note says, citing a law that tightens restrictions on assault weapons and raises the minimum age for gun purchasers to 21.
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