On January 21, 2023, a horrific shooting incident occurred at a dance studio in Monterey Park, known for its Chinese and Asian community, during the Lunar New Year festival.

The incident took place around 10 PM at the 'Star Ballroom Dance Studio.' The perpetrator began indiscriminately firing a Cobray CM-11 9mm submachine gun, resulting in 11 fatalities and 10 injuries at the scene.

This incident has been recorded as the worst mass shooting in Los Angeles County history, serving as a tragic reminder of the need for gun regulation and mental health care in American society.

The weapon used by the shooter was an illegally modified Cobray CM-11, a variant of the MAC-10. It was equipped with a large homemade suppressor, secured with bandages, duct tape, and wire, presumably to reduce recoil and prevent burns to the hands during firing.

He then moved to another location, the 'Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio' in Alhambra, to attempt a second attack. Fortunately, the operator's grandson, Brandon Tsai, successfully tackled the gunman and disarmed him, preventing further casualties.

Thanks to his bravery, a larger disaster was averted, and local police and media praised him, stating, "One person's actions saved dozens of lives."

After fleeing, the shooter ended his life. Inside his vehicle, police found a Norinco TT-33 pistol used for the suicide, and at his home, a .308 caliber Savage Arms bolt-action rifle with a scope was discovered, although it was not used in the crime.

Shockingly, the shooter was a 72-year-old man named Huu Can Tran, a Vietnamese American.

In his youth, he lived an unstable life, moving between Taiwan and Hong Kong, and there are stories of his involvement in organized crime. He later immigrated to the United States, residing in Texas before moving to California in the early 1990s, where he obtained citizenship.

While working as a dance instructor at the Star Ballroom where the incident occurred, he met and married his wife, but they divorced after four years. He became increasingly isolated, often expressing paranoid thoughts to those around him and displaying unstable behavior. According to police records, he had been arrested in the 1990s for illegal possession of firearms, claiming he carried a gun for self-defense.

He made several calls to the police, repeating delusional claims that "his ex-wife's new husband was a Taiwanese gang member trying to kill him" or "his neighbors were watching him." It was later revealed that a month before the incident, he visited the local police station claiming, "his family was trying to poison him," exhibiting bizarre behavior.

However, the police had no legal grounds to arrest him at the time. Investigations found no evidence of hate crimes targeting specific races or groups. Instead, it is believed that the incident stemmed from personal anger, prolonged isolation, and accumulated mental distress.

This incident, where an ordinary night turned into a tragedy, serves as a symbolic reminder of how vulnerable community safety is in the face of firearms in the hands of individuals with mental health issues.