Police were attending a shooting in Monterey Park, California with multiple casualties on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a law enforcement source.

The shooting took place after 10 p.m. (0600 GMT) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, the newspaper said.

It was not clear how many people had been injured or killed, or if the suspect was still at large.

Footage posted on social media showed injured people on stretchers being taken to ambulances by emergency staff. Around the scene of the shooting – reported to have been at a nightclub – police guarded cordoned-off streets, the video showed.

One of many victims being transported from the Monterey Park incident. #montereypark pic.twitter.com/a7vaNWFJlb

— Sal (@news__dude) January 22, 2023

“Our hearts go out to those who lost loved ones tonight in our neighboring city, Monterey Park, where a mass shooting just occurred,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a tweet.

Tens of thousands of people had attended the festival earlier in the day.

The LA Times quoted the owner of a nearby restaurant as saying that people who sought shelter in his property told him there was a man with a machine gun in the area.

Seung Won Choi told the newspaper that he believed the shooting took place at a dance club.

Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles county, around 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Los Angeles.

Source: Reuters