MONTEREY PARK, Calif. — The death toll in California’s ballroom bloodbath rose to 11 on Monday when a wounded victim succumbed to her injuries, authorities said — as five other slain people were identified.
“Despite our best efforts, we are saddened to share that one of the victims has succumbed to their extensive injuries,” said Jorge Orozco, CEO of the LAC+USC Medical Center, in a statement. “We want to express our deepest sympathies to their families and loved ones.”
The latest victim’s identity is pending family notification but was described as a woman in her 70s.
The tragic development came as it surfaced that Ming Wei Ma, a dance instructor at Star Dance Studio where the shooting occurred, was killed while apparently heroically trying to stop the shooter Huu Can Tran, his grieving pals said.
“He was the first to rush the shooter,” Ma’s friend, Eric Chen, told CBS News. “He was just caring.”
David DuVal, who taught ballroom at Star Dance, told The Post that Ma once owned the dance hall and was lovingly called “Mr. Ma” by the patrons.
“While he didn’t speak much English, he would always say, ‘I love you,’ ‘beautiful,’ ‘showcase,’ and ‘teacher,'” DuVal said. “He would say ‘showcase’ because he always wanted to make sure you purchase tickets to his showcase and to bring your students to perform.”
My Nhan, 65, was identified as one of the 10 victims of the Monterey Park massacre. Twitter/Tiffany Liou
David DuVal dancing with one of his students in another ballroom.
DuVal said Ma was among the first people killed because he was standing near the entrance of the large ballroom. His student, Grace, was toward the opposite end of the building and was able to dive under a table and hide.
DuVal said Grace told him she first thought the gunshots were firecrackers because Lunar Year celebrations were happening all over the neighborhood.
“She said she saw the long barrel of [Tran’s] gun, but she didn’t dare look at his face,” DuVal recounted. “She was on her hands and knees … crawling on the floor, and went under a table.”
Flowers and heart balloons are left near the scene of the shooting. REUTERS
Three women — My Nhan, 65, Lilian Li, 63, and Xiujuan Yu, 57 — and a 68-year-old man, Valentino Alvero, also were identified as among the slain victims.
The madman later killed himself in a dramatic standoff with police in nearby Torrance.
Nhan’s family, who called her Mymy, said Monday that she was the first one killed in the slaughter — and that the tragedy is “still sinking in.
“She spent so many years going to the dance studio in Monterey Park on weekends,” they wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. “It’s what she loved to do.
“But unfairly, Saturday was her last dance.
“We are starting the Lunar New Year broken. We never imagined her life would end so suddenly,” said the statement signed by “The Nhan and Quan Family.”
“Mymy was 65 years old. If you knew her, you knew her warm smile and kindness was contagious. She was a loving aunt, sister, daughter and friend. Mymy was our biggest cheerleader.”
The family also thanked their neighbors and community for their thoughts, prayers and support.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office said the unnamed victims include a woman in her 50s, two women in their 60s and four five men in their 60s or older.
The age and gender of the 11th victim, whose death was announced by the Los Angeles County Department of Health, is unknown.
Orozco said one of the three injured victims remaining at his hospital is in “serious condition,” while two patients are “recovering.”
Tran, 72, acted alone when he opened fire at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio late Saturday with a semi-automatic pistol, killing 11 and wounding at least 10 others, police said. He then stormed another dancehall, Lai Lai, but was disarmed by a heroic civilian before he could inflict further damage.
The shooter’s motive has not been officially confirmed, but a local law enforcement source told LA Magazine that he was “looking for his wife” and that it increasingly appears the slaughter was domestic violence-related.
Records show Tran, who immigrated from China, filed for divorce from his wife in 2005. The ex-wife told CNN the pair met at Star Ballroom, where Tran was a regular.
She also said her ex-husband was “hostile to a lot of people there,” complained the instructors didn’t like him and said “evil things about him.”
The shooting occurred in Monterey Park, a majority Asian American city of 60,000 that had just wrapped the first day of its annual Lunar New Year celebration when Tran opened fire.
Additional reporting by Allie Griffin
