Huu Can Tran LA shooting: Gunman would be oldest person to commit mass shooting in US history
Cami Mondeaux
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The gunman in the Lunar New Year shooting in Los Angeles County on Saturday night would be the oldest person to carry out a mass shooting in recorded U.S. history if found guilty, a nonprofit research center that specializes in firearm violence said.
Police identified 72-year-old Huu Can Tran as the suspect. If found guilty, he would be the oldest person to carry out such a deadly shooting since 70-year-old William O. Bevins was arrested on five counts of murder in October 1981, according to data compiled by the Violence Project.
Tran’s age also makes him an anomaly as he is far older than the median age of those who have committed mass shootings since 1966, which is 32 years old.
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The Violence Project, funded by the National Institute of Justice, defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are killed during an attack in a public space that lasts no longer than one day.
Tran’s case is also rare, according to the center’s data, because he has been identified as being of Asian descent. People of Asian descent have been responsible for less than 6% of U.S. mass shootings since 1966, according to the Violence Project.
Tran is accused of shooting 20 people near a Lunar New Year celebration at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, around 10:20 p.m. local time on Saturday. The incident left at least 10 people dead. They were all in their 50s, 60s, or 70s, according to officials.
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The 72-year-old suspect was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday afternoon inside a cargo van after a standoff with police, according to officials.
Police believe Tran is also responsible for another shooting later that night at a dance studio in Alhambra, California.
Police linked the two incidents through evidence found in Tran’s cargo van, and there are no other suspects. Officials have not yet identified a motive in the case, and the investigation remains ongoing.