Ten people were killed in a shooting near Los Angeles after the Lunar New Year celebration.

We will have breaking news from Monterey Park near Los Angeles, where several people are reported to have been killed when thousands of people gathered on Saturday night for the Lunar New Year celebration.



AISHA RASKO, HOST:

Ten people have been confirmed dead last night in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, a city east of Los Angeles. The shooting came after a Lunar New Year celebration that drew thousands of people, raising concerns that it could be a hate crime, although this has not been confirmed. Monterey Park is predominantly Asian American. NPR correspondent Sergio Olmos visited the scene. Good morning.

SERGIO OLMOS, SIGNED: Good morning.

RASCO: Sergio, tell us what is known at the moment?

OLMOS: A few minutes ago, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave a press conference. According to him, the incident took place last night in a ballroom dance hall. Officers from the Monterey Park Police Department responded to the call, which occurred at 10:22 p.m. PT. Law enforcement officials said officers arrived and they found people running out of the hall screaming. Inside, they found several victims of firearms. Ten people were confirmed dead at the scene. At least 10 more people were taken to the hospital. They are in various states, from stable to critical. Sheriff Luna said the suspect is Asian. He fled the scene and is not in custody.

RASCO: So, what is known about the possibility that this is a targeted hate crime against people of Asian descent?

OLMOS: So, Sheriff Luna stressed that it’s too early to attribute a motive to the crime. They are still investigating. He said, quote: “Everything is on the table. We don’t know if this is a hate crime defined by law.” Authorities said it was unclear if this was a targeted attack. They are investigating whether it was racially motivated. The shooting took place on a street where there are many Asian businesses, restaurants, grocery stores. Monterey Park itself is home to only about 60,000 people, 65% of whom are Asian Americans; 27% of them are Hispanic. This is one of the first cities in the US, the majority of whose inhabitants have Asian roots. This is a quiet, calm area. The shooting last night shocked the entire local community.

RASCO: Can you tell us about the Lunar New Year celebration there? They really are a big deal, right?

OLMOS: It’s really a big deal. Monterey Park hosts one of California’s largest lunar New Year’s celebrations. It was supposed to be two days – yesterday and today. They announced this morning that they will be canceled for security reasons. The city of Monterey has turned downtown into a carnival area. There are food stalls and rides, and last night people posted photos and videos of themselves enjoying the fun. This is the first year that Lunar New Year is an official public holiday in California. This is the first time anywhere in the US. Once again, the police had to cancel this morning’s celebration because of what happened last night.

RASCO: So what could be next?

OLMOS: So we know that President Biden has been briefed about the mass shooting and is monitoring the situation. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that the President was briefed by the National Security Adviser about the mass shooting in Monterey Park. He instructed her to ensure that the FBI was fully supporting local authorities and to update him regularly as new details emerged. Although we do not know many details. We don’t know where the mass shooter is. We don’t know why the police couldn’t arrest him. We don’t know the motivation. We know the FBI is involved in the investigation. They help the local police and sheriff investigate not only the whereabouts of the shooter, but also some of his motives. And I was outside last night. There were many people who came out to see what was happening. And people, of course, were – they were afraid and wanted some answers.

RASCO: This is NPR national security correspondent Sergio Olmos. Thank you very much for joining us.

OLMOS: Thank you.

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