California authorities say that the driver of a cargo van believed to be connected to the Monterey Park mass shooting was involved in a standoff in Torrance and may have shot himself.
The standoff began when police tried to stop a white cargo van that fit the description of a vehicle of interest from the Saturday night shooting in Monterey Park, law enforcement sources said citing preliminary information.
As officers gave commands for the occupant to exit the van, they heard what they believe was the sound of the driver shooting himself, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
Authorities also said don’t know if the man inside the van is linked to the Monterey Park mass shooting.
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“I want to address also that there is a tactical incident, that is occurring in the city of Torrance, that is being covered. People have asked, ‘Is that your suspect?’ We don’t know,” Luna said during a news conference.
“As I said earlier, today, we had a vehicle that was described as a white box van, I guess you would say, a van of interest,” he continued. “And there is a van that looks just like what was described to us in the city of Torrance. It is a barricaded suspect situation, we are working with one of our partner agencies in the Torrance Police Department to resolve that. We believe there is a person inside of that vehicle. We don’t know what their condition is but we will handle that in the safest manner that we possibly can.”
Luna went on to say that the driver of the white cargo van could possibly be the shooting suspect, “but at this point, if we are doing our jobs correctly, we are not only looking at that situation or scenario, but we are making sure that we are looking at any and every possibility.”
He asked and encouraged community members if they have any information on the shooting suspect to please come forward.
Earlier today, the sheriff’s office released photos of the shooting suspect earlier today on social media.
On Saturday January 21, 2023 at 10:22 PM the suspect male/adult/Asian pictured above was involved in a shooting. Investigators have identified him as a Homicide suspect and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Contact LASD Homicide with any information at 323-890-5000. pic.twitter.com/2gPUBBybvv
— Robert Luna (@LACoSheriff) January 22, 2023
