Night was falling after the Lunar Year celebration at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, Calif., on Saturday when Brandon Tsai heard the front door close behind him.
“Then I turned around and saw there was an Asian man holding a gun. My first thought was I’m going to die here, that’s it,” Tsai, 26, told ABC News’ Robin Roberts during an interview Monday on “Good Morning America.”
Tsai, who helps out at the dance hall with his family, said the gunman was “looking around the room” as if he was “looking for targets — people to hurt.”
“He started preparing the weapon and something came over me,” Tsai recalled. “I realized I had to take the weapon from him. I had to get that weapon, disarm it, or they would all die.”
“When I got up the courage, I lunged at him with both hands, grabbed the weapon and we fought,” he added. “We were fighting in the lobby trying to get that gun away from each other. He was punching me in the face, hitting the back of my head.”
Brandon Tsai is seen on surveillance video struggling with a gun against Huu Canh Tran, 72, who allegedly killed 10 people in nearby Monterey Park, at a dance hall in Alhambra, California, on January 21, 2023.
Lai Lai Ballroom
Tsai said he used his elbows to pry the gun from the suspect during the struggle, until he was finally able to pull the weapon and push the man aside. Tsai said he then pointed the gun at the suspect and yelled, “Get the hell out of here! I will shoot! Get out!
“I thought he was going to run away, but he was just standing there debating whether to fight or run,” Tsai recalled. “I really thought I was going to have to shoot him and he came at me. Then he turned and walked out the door, running back to his van. I immediately called the police with the gun still in my hand.’
Tsai didn’t know it at the time, but would later learn that the same man — identified by authorities as 72-year-old Huu Cang Tran — allegedly opened fire at another dance studio in nearby Monterey Park about 20 minutes later. -early, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 10.
Brandon Tsai is seen on surveillance video struggling with a gun against Huu Canh Tran, 72, who allegedly killed 10 people in nearby Monterey Park, at a dance hall in Alhambra, California, on January 21, 2023.
Lai Lai Ballroom
The mass shooting at Star Dance Studio in the predominantly Asian community of Monterey Park happened shortly after 10:20 p.m. local time Saturday night, during what should be the most festive day of the year for those of Asian descent. Tran allegedly fled the scene in a white van and drove to the Alhambra, where he entered the Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio before being disarmed, according to authorities.
On Sunday, after a day-long search, police found Tran’s vehicle on a road in Torrance, about 30 miles southwest of Monterey Park. As police pulled up behind the marked patrol van, the vehicle pulled into a shopping center parking lot. When the officers got out of their patrol car to approach the van, they heard a gunshot from inside the vehicle. Officers found Tran dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the van, which had a stolen license plate, according to authorities.
Brandon Tsai is seen on surveillance video struggling with a gun against Huu Canh Tran, 72, who allegedly killed 10 people in nearby Monterey Park, at a dance hall in Alhambra, California, on January 21, 2023.
Lai Lai Ballroom
Surveillance cameras at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio captured the fight between Tran and Tsai. Tsai told ABC News that she has bruises all over her body from the incident, including across her nose and the back of her head.
“I was shaking all night. I couldn’t believe what happened,” he said. “Many people told me how brave I was to face such a situation. But do you know what courage is? Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to experience adversity to fear when fearful events such as this occur.”
“In crises like this, people need courage, especially the victims, their friends, their families,” he added. “My heart goes out to everyone involved, especially the people at Star Dance Studio and Monterey Park. I hope they can find the courage and strength to resist.”
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