At least 19 people have reportedly been shot and at least ten of those are dead after a mass shooting on the Lunar New Year in the Asian area of Los Angeles, Monterey Park. Police have shut down the area of Garfield Avenue and Garvey Avenue in search of the Shooter(s) still on the loose.
Details right now are still sketchy. The shooting happened at a time when it was busy for Chinese New Year, and the area is home to multiple Asian businesses.
Two witnesses said they heard gunfire but initially assumed it was fireworks near 122 Garvey Ave in Monterey Park.
The scalable map below shows the neighborhood:
Local news media crews are assembled very near a businesses with the signs "TS EMPORIUM" and "Star Dance" a ballroom dance studio at 122 West Garvey, but it is not yet known if this is the precise location of the incident.
UPDATE 4:36 AM EST --
This photo has emerged which seems to show dead bodies laying in a place that might be a Ballroom Dance Studio . . .
Quick research into the area show that signs and leaflets were distributed for the Lunar New Year celebration this weekend on Garvey Avenue in Monterey Park:
The shooting took place after 10 p.m. (0600 GMT) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park.
Tens of thousands of people had attended the festival earlier in the day.
Footage posted on social media showed deserted, cordoned-off streets guarded by police cars.
Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles county, around 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Los Angeles.
UPDATE 5:05 AM EST --
It is now 5:05 AM here in the New York City area, which makes it 2:05 AM out in Los Angeles. The shooting allegedly took place around 10:00 PM in Los Angeles, so that's FOUR HOURS ago, and yet there is still no official word about this incident from authorities!