California shooting: 10 people killed at dance club during lunar new year parties – live

Police say gunman still on the loose after shooting that left 10 others wounded in Monterey Park, a city with a large Asian American population

Good morning, US live blog readers, we’re following the news breaking out of California overnight after a shooter opened fire in a dance studio near Los Angeles late on Saturday and, at latest reports, killed 10 people. Police say the gunman is on the loose. We’ll bring you developments as they happen. Here’s where things stand:

A gunman killed 10 people and wounded 10 others at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday night.

The tragedy took place at Monterey Park, about 10 miles east of downtown LA, a small city with a large Asian American population.

Police say the shooter was a man and he is still at large, though they have given no further description or any information about a possible motive.

Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles sheriff’s department said early on Sunday that the wounded were taken to hospitals and their conditions range from stable to critical. Meyer said 10 people died at the scene.

Meyer said people were “pouring out of the location screaming” late Saturday when officers arrived on the scene. He said officers then went into the dance ballroom as firefighters treated the wounded.

Lunar New Year celebrations are planned in cities across the US and, indeed, across the world today to mark the start of the Chinese year of the rabbit. There will be huge events in Los Angeles, New York and other places today.

Law enforcement in Monterey Park say it’s too early to determine whether the shooting there was a hate crime against Asian Americans or whether the gunman knew any of his victims or had any connection to the dance venue where he struck.