Suspect in Monterey Park dance studio massacre was frequent visitor

By Tim Reid and Rich McKay MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (Reuters) - The 72-year-old suspected gunman in Saturday night's mass shooting at a Los Angeles-area dance studio had

been a regular there, giving informal lessons and even meeting his ex-wife at the venue, according to friends and media reports. Authorities say Huu Can Tran killed 10

people when he opened fire during a celebration of the Lunar New Year at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, popular in the predominantly Asian American city of Monterey Park, east of

Los Angeles. Tran went to another dance club in the neighboring city of Alhambra soon after the massacre, police say, but a patron there wrestled away his gun, which may

have thwarted a second attack. Later, Tran died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday as police approached a van he was driving. It is exceedingly rare for a person

over 70 to carry out a mass shooting. While authorities have not identified a motive, some details have emerged about Tran's background. Adam Hood, who said he was a

longtime tenant of Tran's who spoke to him frequently, told Reuters Tran was an angry, aggressive, distrustful person who did not have many friends but liked ballroom dancing, his

main social activity. "He was a good dancer," said Hood, who met Tran in the early 2000s. "But he was distrustful of the people at the studio, angry and distrustful. I think

he just had enough." Tran complained that people at the studio were talking behind his back, Hood said. Tran, who was divorced, never remarried and did not have a

girlfriend, Hood said.