Monterey Park mass shooting: Witnesses identify one of the men killed
Witnesses have identified one of the victims killed in the Monterey Park mass shooting as the owner of the Star Dance Studio.
According to witnesses, Ming Wei Ma was killed in a final act of selflessness.
"According to the chat, he was the first to rush the shooter," said victim's friend Eric Chen. "He was just caring, and other first, people first kind of person."
Ma is one of the 11 people killed and 9 more injured during Saturday night's mass shooting.
"Heartbreaking and it's unthinkable that it would happen," said Chen.
According to authorities, at approximately 10:22 p.m., officers from the Monterey Park police department responded to a "shots fired" call at a dance studio on the 100 block of West Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park. According to the city's Police Chief Scott Wiese, officers arrived at the ballroom about three minutes after they received the call. He added that they were some of the youngest officers in his department.
The suspect was identified Sunday evening by Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran. There are no outstanding suspects, Luna added.
Woody Lin, the news director for one of the largest Chinese media groups in the United States, Sino TV, said his reporters spoke to friends of Ma. The loved ones said they were with Ma seconds before the shooting.
"May was actually inside the dance studio," said Lin. "Okay, when that happened she just happened to be lucky, and she went to the restroom."
By the time she came out, she told them it was chaos. A level of violence that some say does not and will not ever make sense.
"I felt it was very important to show our community support," said a man named Brian, who came to pay his respects. "Our elders have been going through a hell of a time in these last couple of years."
