Authorities were seeking a motive Monday after a deadly shooting at a Southern California dance hall left 10 people dead, at least 10 others wounded and Monterey Park residents shocked.

Investigators were looking into the background of suspect Huu Can Tran after the mass shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio rocked the largely Asian community as it gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year on Saturday.

Tran, 72, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after authorities took him into custody following a chase, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday.

“The unimaginable happened in our community last night,” Monterey Park Mayor Henry Lo said in a statement Sunday, calling the deadly shooting a “horrific tragedy.”

«We understand that our community is looking for answers,» Lo said, vowing to update residents as the investigation continues.

Officers look out the window of a pickup truck believed to have a body in the driver’s seat in Torrance, California, on Sunday. Robyn Beck / AFP – Getty Images

Sources familiar with the investigation said a person in a white van strapped to a traffic stop in the coastal city of Torrance, about 30 miles from the crime scene, fit the description of a person seen at crime scenes. both in Monterey Park and in the adjacent Alhambra. , where a gunman had entered another ballroom with a firearm shortly after the Monterey Park shooting.

The gunman was quickly disarmed by community members in the second incident and managed to flee the scene.

When authorities, including SWAT officers, approached the van, they discovered that the suspect was dead. Various pieces of evidence in the van linked him to both crime scenes, Luna said. A gun was also found in the van, she added.

As authorities learn more about the suspect, the motive for the deadly incident remains unclear, Luna said.

The possibility of a hate crime was part of the investigation, but authorities were also working to determine if the suspect knew any of the victims, Luna said. Ultimately, she said, getting answers will take time.

«We don’t know if this is specifically a hate crime defined by law, but who walks into a dance hall and shoots 20 people?» Luna said the previous Sunday: “The description we have now is of an Asian male. That matters? I dont know. I can tell you that everything is on the table.»

Residents of Monterey Park appeared to be on alert Sunday, with Lo saying the city’s emergency dispatch centers were «inundated with calls.»

«The Monterey Park Police Department is asking for the public’s help in only using 9-1-1 for emergency-related calls,» he said.

Image: Ten dead in mass shooting at the Lunar New Year Festival in California
Investigators near the scene of the Monterey Park shooting.Eric Thayer/Getty Images

A Survivorship Resource Center has been established at Monterey Park’s Langley Senior Center, he said, adding that mental health resources were available to «anyone who needs support.»

Concerned friends and family members gathered downtown for much of Sunday, anxiously awaiting news of loved ones they feared could be among the 10 people killed or injured.

“I tried to reach her, but I didn’t get any response,” Vivian King, a Monterey Park resident, told NBC News about a friend she last heard from earlier this weekend.

Juan Pablo Pinzón, a tourist from Colombia, said his cousin had been out with friends in the area on Saturday night and had not responded to texts or calls since.

“It’s hard not to know what’s going on,” said Juan Pablo Pinzón, a tourist from Colombia who said his cousin had been out with friends in the area on Saturday night and hadn’t responded to texts or calls since. «Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.»