Man Who Disarmed Lunar New Year Celebration Shooter: I Had to Take the Gun ‘Or Everyone Else Would Have Died’

Mass Shooting in Monterey Park CA Monterey Park, CA - January 23: Journalists gather at La
Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna indicated that the alleged Lunar New Year celebration shooter tried to attack a second location after killing ten innocents in Monterey Park, but his plans were foiled by a citizen who disarmed him.

That citizen, Brandon Tsay, told his story to ABC News’ Good Morning America on Monday.

Tsay said he was at a dance hall in Alhambra, California–the second location the alleged shooter sought to attack–when the suspected attacker entered and caught Tsay’s attention with the sound of racking the pistol’s slide to load a bullet.

Tsay said, “I wasn’t paying attention to the front door. I was looking into the dance ballroom, to the dance floor, and this is when I heard the sound of the front door creaking closed, instantly followed by the sound of metal objects clinking together, as if they were rubbing.”

He added, “That’s when I turned around and saw that there was an Asian man holding a gun.”

Tsay went on to note that he knew he had to take the gun away or else people would die.

He said, “When I got the courage I lunged at him with both hands, grabbed the weapon, and we had a struggle.”

Tsay said the alleged shooter hit him in the face and the back of the head, but Tsay was able to take the pistol from him.

The New York Post reported that no shots were fired in the Alhambra dance hall and no attendees were wounded.

The alleged attacker, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, got into his cargo van and left.

Breitbart News noted a Los Angeles Times report that police spotted the cargo van Sunday morning and initiated a pullover, but Huu Can Tran shot and killed himself before he could be apprehended.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.