THE body of the man alleged to be the shooter in the killing of 10 people at a ballroom dance club during Lunar New Year celebrations near Los Angeles was found dead late on Sunday.

Authorities said that they found the alleged gunman dead inside the van in which he fled after a second shooting was thwarted.

The man, identified by authorities as Huu Can Tran is alleged to have been the shooter behind the killings at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park.

Speaking at a news conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said that the motive for the attack remained unclear. Ten people were also wounded, seven of whom were still in the hospital.

About 20 to 30 minutes after the first attack, the gunman entered the Lai Lai Ballroom in nearby Alhambra. But people there wrested the weapon away from him and he fled, according to Sheriff Luna.

After a manhunt law enforcement officials surrounded the van in Torrance, about 22 miles from the site of the attempted second shooting, for hours before swarming and entering the vehicle. 

Mr Tran’s body was discovered slumped over the wheel of the vehicle, apparently dead from self-inflicted gun shots.

Also speaking at the news conference, Congresswoman Judy Chu said that she still has questions about the attack.

She asked: “What was the motive for this shooter? Did he have a mental illness? Was he a domestic violence abuser? How did he get these guns and was it through legal means or not?”

The massacre was the nation’s fifth mass killing this month. It was also the deadliest attack since May 24 last year, when 21 people were killed in a primary school in Uvalde, Texas.