Nine people have died at a mass shooting during a Chinese New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California, the Los Angeles Sherrif Department has told Insider.
They could not confirm the number of people injured in the attack.
A local business owner, Seung Won Choi, told the LA Times that he believes the shooting took place in a dance club. Three people who took refuge in his restaurant said they saw a gunman firing a semi-automatic weapon.
The shooting happened at roughly 10 pm PST.
Thousands of people had gathered at the celebration to welcome the Lunar New Year, with 2023 being the year of the rabbit.
It occurred about an hour after the area’s Lunar New Year festival ended.
No suspect information was immediately available except that a shooter is a man.