The Chinese New Year's Eve night shooting in Monterey Park, California, shocked the world.
Huu Can Tran, a 72-year-old Asian-American gunman, opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol in a ballroom called Dancing Star, eventually killing 11 people (one of whom died of his injuries after being admitted to the hospital) and injuring at least 10 others. The gunman shot himself while being chased and died in the van.
It is reported that Chen Hukang met his ex-wife in this dance hall, and he was one of the dance teachers at the dance hall, but the couple divorced 17 years ago. And the reason why he wanted to do something horrible was speculated to be due to jealousy, "his ex-wife was invited to the dance, he didn't."
Although Chen's target was likely his ex-wife, the woman was lucky to survive and was also interviewed but was reluctant to come forward and make her name public. She thinks her ex-husband has a bad temper, "if I make the wrong move, he will loudly reprimand and get angry."
According to news on January 23, local time, the identities of three victims have been confirmed.
Ming Wei Ma was reportedly the first victim of the night, "the first to rush at the gunman, and he was concerned about the safety of others," said Mr. Ma's friend. "He's so lovely to me, I know he's the heart of this ballroom," says dance teacher Lauren Woods.
The identities of a 65-year-old Vietnamese woman named My Ghan and a 63-year-old Chinese woman named Lilan Li were also confirmed.
The other eight men, including three women and five men, were over half a hundred years old.
It is sad and infuriating that innocent lives have been taken away like this, but there are also thankful things, the gunman seems to have not found his ex-wife in "Dancing Star", or continues to be cruel, he went to another dance hall called "Lai" not far away after more than 10 minutes of crazy shooting, but there were no casualties reported here.
In the eyes of the American media, this luck is attributed to a young man of Chinese descent named Brandon Tsay, who was working at "Lai Lai" at the time, and he was the son of the owner of the dance hall.
Brandon Tsai, 26, spoke to Good Morning America after the incident and told details of the incident, saying it was "primitive instinct" that made him step forward and seize the gun in Chen's hand.
In addition, other American media also highlighted Brandon Cai's behavior in their reports, praising him as a "hero".
Brandon Tsai said that the events held for the Chinese New Year's Eve night were basically over, most of the people left, and he was cleaning up.
"I heard the creaking of the front door, followed by the sound of metal objects rubbing against each other," and "When I turned my head and saw an Asian man with a gun, my first thought was, I'm going to die here."
Brandon Tsai said he did not know Chen Hukang, but the moment he saw him, he could feel "a threat in his eyes." "I could see that he was not here to rob us, he looked around the room and seemed to be looking for a target, the person he wanted to hurt".
"But something suddenly came to mind... I think I have to take this gun away or we're all going to die."
"When I plucked up my courage, I threw myself at him with both hands, grabbed the weapon, and we pulled each other into the hall, both trying to get the gun off each other. He hit me in the face, hit me on the head", "I tried to create some distance. The last time, I was able to take the gun away from him, push him aside and pull him away for a distance."
"I got the gun, pointed it at him, threatened him and yelled: 'Get out of here! I'm going to shoot! I don't care about you! "I thought he was going to run away, but he seemed hesitant and I really thought I had to shoot, and then he turned and went out the door and walked to his van." "I immediately called the police, still with a gun in my hand. I couldn't believe what was going on."
Brandon Cai's father, Tom Tsai, also spoke to the media, praising his son's efforts, while also saying that he was "lucky that he is still alive."