On Jan. 21, a gunman opened fire in a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park, CA during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, killing 11 and injuring nine others. 

The gunman, who was at large for about 12 hours after the shooting, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while a SWAT team closed in on him.

Reports of the shooting came in at around 10:22 p.m. Around 20 minutes after the shooting, the suspect entered a dance hall in the nearby city of Alhambra. The suspect entered with a firearm that was grappled away from him by a person inside the hall; the suspect then fled.

Both cities have an Asian-American population of over 50%. Monterey Park Mayor, Henry Lo, claims the suspect might have been targeting his ex-wife.

This is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022. There have been 33 mass shootings so far in 2023.