Man Who Disarmed Monterey Park Gunman And Stopped Second Shooting Describes What Happened

Brandon Tsay is being hailed as a hero after preventing what could have been a second shooting following Saturday night's tragedy in Monterey Park, a city in Los Angeles County in California.

Tsay—whose parents own Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio—said in an interview on Good Morning America he heard the front door of the venue click and turned to find a man holding a gun. Tsay was unaware of the shooting that killed 11 people and injured 9 others at another studio just minutes earlier.

He told Robin Roberts:

"He started prepping the weapon and something came over me."

"I realized I needed to get the weapon away from him."

"I needed to take this weapon, disarm him or else everybody would have died."

That's when Tsay heroically sprang into action.

"When I got the courage, I lunged at him with both my hands, grabbed the weapon and we had a struggle."

"We struggled into the lobby, trying to get this gun away from each other."

"He was hitting me across the face, bashing the back of my head."

You can watch the interview below.

Tsay threatened to shoot the man if he didn't leave.

"He was just standing there, contemplating whether to fight or to run away."

The man finally left and drove away in his van.

He was later identified by police as the man who opened fire just 20 minutes earlier at Star Dance Studio. His victims were all in their 50s, 60s and 70s.

10 victims were killed on site. An additional victim succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.

People who learned of Tsay's bravery thanked him for his selfless act of courage.

The following day police found the gunman dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

He opened fire at Star Dance studio in a predominately Asian community of Monterey Park where attendees were celebrating the Lunar New Year. He fled the scene and drove to Lai Lai Ballroom where a similar celebration was taking place.

Tsay said fortunately most of their attendees had already gone home when the gunman arrived.

Tsay reflected on the incident:

"I was shaking all night. I couldn't believe what happened."

"A lot of people have been telling me how much courage I had to confront a situation like this."

"But you know what courage is? Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to have adversity to fear when fearful events happen such as this."

He finished:

"In crises like this, the people need courage, especially the victims, their friends, their families."

"My heart goes out to everybody involved, especially the people in Star Dance Studio and Monterey Park."

"I hope they can find the courage and the strength to persevere."

Tsay is a true hero.