Nine people have died after a shooting at a community near Los Angeles in California in the United States late Saturday, where a crowd of tens of thousands were celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Police were responding to reports of a shooting that resulted in multiple casualties in California’s Monterey Park on Saturday night, Los Angeles Times reported citing a law enforcement source.
The shooting took place near the site of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration after 10 pm (local time), as per the news report. Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday for the start of a two-day festival. It is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in the area, as per the Los Angeles Times report.
“LA County Sheriff’s Homicide detectives are responding to assist Monterey Park PD with a shooting death investigation. There are nine deceased,” a statement said. There are also an unconfirmed number of injuries.
Earlier in the day, people were enjoying skewers and shopping for Chinese food and jewellery. The New Year festivities were scheduled from 10 am to 9 pm. Videos that have surfaced on social media showed the presence of police and fire units on Garvey Avenue and treating victims. Injured people were moved to multiple hospitals in the region, Los Angeles Times reported.
