At least 10 people have died following a shooting at a ballroom in California on Sunday, during a Lunar New Year celebration that attracted thousands. 

The gunman fired on a crowd of people in the California city of Monterey Park, injuring at least 10 others. Some of whom are in critical condition. 

Local police described the suspect, who was still on the run as of Sunday evening, as an “Asian male”. 

Monterey Park — about 13km east of Los Angeles — is home to a large Asian community. 

“At this time, our very preliminary description is a man of Asian descent,” Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference, suggesting he was between the age of 30 and 50.

However, he said investigators had received “different descriptions of one suspect” from survivors and witnesses so far. 

The sheriff could not rule out that the attack was racially motivated when questioned by reporters.

“We don’t know if this is specifically a hate crime defined by law,” he added, “but who walks into a dance hall and guns down 20 people?”

Luna detailed that five men and five women died at the scene, while the injured were in conditions ranging from “stable to critical”. 

Captain Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said people were “pouring out of the location screaming” when officers arrived at the venue around 10:30 p.m. local time. 

Euronews journalists are working on the story and will update as more information comes in.