Brandon Tsay, a 26-year-old man, is being hailed as a hero for wrestling an assault pistol from gunman Huu Can Tran’s hands at Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, preventing the loss of lives.

Tran opened fire at a dance studio in Monterey Park, California, on Saturday night. At least 10 people were killed and 1o others injured in the shooting. He then fled the scene and entered the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, which is down the street from the Monterey Park mass shooting scene. 

Brandon Tsay told the New York Times that there were three people on the dance floor when the gunman entered the building.

“He was looking at me and looking around, not hiding that he was trying to do harm. His eyes were menacing,” he recalled.

“My heart sank, I knew I was going to die,” Tsay said.

In a bid to save himself and the others in the building, Tsay quickly grabbed the barrel of the weapon and fought the 72-year-old gunman before eventually disarming him.

He then pointed the pistol at Tran and shouted, “Go, get the hell out of here.”

Speaking of the weapon the gunman carried, Tsay told the New York Times, “How it was built and customized, I knew it wasn’t for robbing money. “From his body language, his facial expression, his eyes, he was looking for people.”

Who is Brandon Tsay?

Brandon Tsay is a coder. He works part-time at the ticket office at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra which was set up by his grandparents. The name “Lai Lai”, meaning “come, come” in Chinese, was chosen by his grandmother. Tsay’s older sister, Brenda, currently runs the business.

Tsay is 26 years old. The family lives in San Marino, a city in California.

His parents reviewed the security camera footage at the ballroom and confirmed that their son fought the gunman alone and managed to disarm him.

“It was just my son. He could have died,” his father, Tom Tsay, told the outlet. “He’s lucky, someone was watching over him.”