9 Killed in Shooting Near LA after Lunar New Year Festival

Police officers stand watch after reports of a shooting taking place in Monterey Park, California, USA, 22 January 2023. EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN
Police officers stand watch after reports of a shooting taking place in Monterey Park, California, USA, 22 January 2023. EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN
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9 Killed in Shooting Near LA after Lunar New Year Festival

Police officers stand watch after reports of a shooting taking place in Monterey Park, California, USA, 22 January 2023. EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN
Police officers stand watch after reports of a shooting taking place in Monterey Park, California, USA, 22 January 2023. EPA/CAROLINE BREHMAN

Nine people were killed in a mass shooting late Saturday in a city east of Los Angeles following a Lunar New Year celebration that attracted thousands, police said.

Sgt. Bob Boese of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the shooting occurred at a business on Garvey Ave. in Monterey Park. The shooter is a male, Boese said early Sunday.

Officials provided no information for several hours after dozens of police officers had responded to reports of the shooting.

Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people with a large Asian population that's about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Los Angeles.

Seung Won Choi, who owns the Clam House seafood barbecue restaurant across the street from where the shooting happened, told the Los Angles Times that three people rushed into his business and told him to lock the door.

The people also told Choi that there was a shooter with a machine gun who had multiple rounds of ammunition on him so he could reload. Choi said he believes the shooting took place at a dance club, The Associated Press reported.

Saturday was the start of the two-day festival, which is one of the largest Lunar New Year events in Southern California.



Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
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Rubio Arrives for NATO Talks as Allies Wait to Learn of US Plans for a Likely Drawdown in Europe

US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio steps off the plane as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Trump administration’s new envoy to NATO arrived Thursday in Brussels, where the alliance’s top diplomats are hoping they’ll shed light on US security plans in Europe.

European allies and Canada are deeply concerned by President Donald Trump’s readiness to draw closer to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who sees NATO as a threat, as the US works to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine, The Associated Press said.

Recent White House comments and insults directed at NATO allies Canada and Denmark — as well as the military alliance itself — have raised alarm and confusion, especially with new US tariffs targeting US friends and foes alike.

Since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned last month that US security priorities lie elsewhere — in Asia and on the US's own borders — the Europeans have waited to learn how big a military drawdown in Europe could be and how fast it may happen.

In Europe and Canada, governments are working on “burden shifting” plans to take over more of the load, while trying to ensure that no security vacuum is created if US troops and equipment are withdrawn from the continent.

These allies are keen to hear from Rubio what the Trump administration’s intentions are and hope to secure some kind of roadmap that lays out what will happen next and when, so they can synchronize planning and use European forces to plug any gaps.

In a statement, newly confirmed US ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker said that “under President Trump’s leadership, NATO will be stronger and more effective than ever before, and I believe that a robust NATO can continue to serve as a bedrock of peace and prosperity.”

But he added: “NATO’s vitality rests on every ally doing their fair share.”

Whitaker affirmed the US commitment to NATO’s collective security guarantee, which says that an attack on any ally must be considered an attack on them all, but that his brief would also be to encourage Europe to lead on “peace, security, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”

The statement said allies should demonstrate that NATO takes seriously threats from China.