Monterey Park shooting: Suspect Huu Can Tran’s ex-wife speaks out

Couple were married in early 2000s

The former wife of shooting suspect Huu Can Tran, 72, has spoken out after police say her ex-husband killed 10 people and injured 10 more at a shooting on 21 January at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California.

Speaking to CNN, Tran’s ex-wife, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity surrounding the case, said she met him two decades ago at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio where Saturday’s massacre took place.

He had been a regular at the popular community gathering place and would give informal dance lessons.

Tran had seen her dance and had introduced himself and offered to give her free lessons. Soon after, the two were married.

She told the network that he was never violent toward her but could get angry quickly — for example, if she missed a dance step he would get upset because he felt it made him look bad.

Tran filed for divorce in late 2005. Los Angeles court records show that a judge approved the divorce the following year.

His former wife showed CNN their marriage certificate, which also states that Tran was an immigrant from China.

Since their divorce, it is unclear how often he would visit the dance studio, but a longtime acquaintance, who also did not want to be named, said he recalled Tran driving the five minutes from his home in San Gabriel to the Star Ballroom “almost every night” in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

The acquaintance said in those days Tran would complain that the dance instructors at the studio didn’t like him and said “evil things about him”. He recalled Tran being “hostile to a lot of people there”.

Saying he hadn’t seen Tran in several years, the acquaintance was “totally shocked” when he heard about the shooting.

“I know lots of people, and if they go to Star studio, they frequent there,” he said, adding that he was “worried maybe I know some of” the victims of the tragedy.