After Monterey Park shooting, gunman targeted Alhambra dance studio, sources say

Authorities believe that after opening fire at a Monterey Park dance studio Saturday night, the Lunar New Year gunman went to a second dance facility not far away in Alhambra, law enforcement officials said.

No one was hurt at Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio in Alhambra, the sources said, but there was a physical altercation and the man left in a white van.

“Some individuals wrestled the firearm from him, and that individual took off” in what some witnesses described as a white cargo van, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said of the Alhambra incident.

Police believe that van is the one officers tracked to Torrance before noon Sunday, where officers surrounded the vehicle.

Officials are still trying to determine if the man inside the van is the person they suspect of being the gunman. A photo of a suspect was posted by the Sheriff‘s Department.

At Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio on Sunday morning, a handmade sign affixed to the front doors said, “Closed, in observance to Star Dance Tragedy” in red marker.

There were no obvious signs that anything had occurred in the foyer visible through the glass doors, save for a bottle of hand sanitizer askew in the middle of the floor.

Standing outside the squat white-painted brick building, Charlene Lung — an 82-year-old retired teacher — said she had been taking a private dance class inside and was unaware of the mass shooting or any incident at Lai Lai.

She and her instructor, who were both clad in dance shoes, had entered through a side door earlier that morning and hadn’t seen the sign posted on the front door.

“If any one of us know of a shooting incident we wouldn’t be here because it’s risky,” Lung said, explaining that she had been enjoying Lunar New Year’s Eve celebrations with her family Saturday night and not seen any news.

The shooting at the Monterey Park ballroom dance studio left 10 people dead and 10 hurt. No motive has been established.