The brother of a 72-year-old man who was one of 11 people killed during a mass shooting in Monterey Park in 2023 is suing both the estate of the accused gunman and the dance ballroom where the killings occurred for wrongful death, alleging there was insufficient security at the studio
The tragic events of Jan. 21, 2023, when gunman Huu Can Tran, also 72, entered Star Ballroom Dance Studio and opened fire. Nine others were seriously wounded.
Plaintiff Alan Kao is the brother of the late Yu Lun Kao, who was unmarried and had no children when he was shot along with the others at the now-closed Star Ballroom Dance Studio. The studio also is a defendant in the plaintiff’s Alhambra Superior Court lawsuit, which additionally alleges assault, battery, negligence and premises liability.
Alan Kao contends that the ballroom owners and managers “were negligent in failing to take reasonable steps and to employ security measures, including … security guards, video cameras and adequate lighting to protect patrons … from the criminal acts of Huu Can Tran.”
Alan Kao seeks unspecified compensatory damages from the studio as well as punitive damages from the Tran estate. Representatives for the estate and the ballroom could not be immediately reached for comment.
After Tran left the Star Ballroom, he went to the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra and attempted to enter before he was stopped by Brandon Tsay, a young man lauded as a lifesaving hero.
The gunman killed himself the next day after he was pulled over by police outside a Torrance strip mall.
The mass shooting was the deadliest in L.A. County history — and occurred on the eve of the Lunar New Year in a community that is majority Asian American and is considered the first suburban Chinatown in the nation.
Following the shooting, President Joe Biden visited Monterey Park, consoled each of the victims’ families and announced executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence. He also took time during his State of the Union speech on Feb. 7, 2023, to call for increased gun control.