CNN
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Major cities, including New York and Los Angeles, are stepping up security precautions ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations following a mass shooting Saturday night in Monterey Park, California.
At least 10 people are dead and another 10 hospitalized after a gunman, who is still on the run, opened fire at a dance studio in a predominantly Asian community. The shooting happened near the area of Monterey Park’s Lunar New Year festival.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will strengthen security at other Lunar New Year events in the city while they continue to investigate a possible link between Saturday’s mass shooting scene and another incident a few miles away.
It is still too soon to rule out a hate crime as the possible motive, the sheriff’s department said. While authorities have not released any details about a potential motive for the killing, cities across the country are still taking extra security precautions.
Sheriff Robert Luna said his department has told other agencies to “make sure that security is a top priority at any event, and that’s not to indicate that we think there’s a threat there – we’re just taking every precaution that we can.”
“I encourage people to go out and enjoy the events,” Luna said. “As a matter of fact, I will be attending another Chinese New Year’s event later on in a couple of hours.”
The New York City Police Department told CNN it also has plans to have “an adequate security presence at Lunar New Year events” following the mass shooting.
“While there are no identified threats to New York City stemming from this incident, out of an abundance of caution, we have shifted our counterterrorism and patrol resources and will have an adequate security presence at Lunar New Year events and throughout the city,” a…
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