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The hunt for a gunman who killed 10 people at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance hall ended Sunday when authorities found the suspect dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the van he used to flee the scene of a second attempted attack.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the man as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran and said no other suspects were at large. He added that the motive for the attack, which wounded 10 more, remained unclear.
The weapon suspected to have been used was identified as a magazine-fed semi-automatic assault pistol, which was also found in the van.
"I still have questions in my mind, which is: What was the motive for this shooter? Did he have a mental illness? Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he gets these guns and was it through legal means or not?" Congresswoman Judy Chu said.
The sheriff said that Tran turned a handgun on himself on Sunday as police approached a white van he was driving in Torrance, about 34 kilometres from the site of the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, Calif. Officers heard a single gunshot from the van as they approached, then fell back and called for a SWAT team.
Luna did not identify any of the victims but said the five men and five women appeared to be in their 50s, 60s and beyond.
Another 10 people were shot, and seven of them remain hospitalized, with at least one person in critical condition, authorities said.
The sheriff said the pistol Tran used appeared to be illegal in California, where state laws ban any magazine holding more than 10 rounds.
The shooting sent a wave of fear through Asian American communities in the Los Angeles area and cast a shadow over Lunar New Year festivities around the country. Other cities sent extra officers to watch over the celebrations.