LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — A gunslinger A Chinese immigrant motivated by hatred of Taiwanese was involved in the deadly attack at the California church, authorities said.
The shooting killed Dr. John Cheng, 52, and five other people were wounded in an attack at a Southern California church, authorities said at a news conference Monday.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said the motive for the shooting was a complaint between the shooter, identified as a Chinese immigrant, and the Taiwanese community. China claims that Taiwan is part of its national territory and has not ruled out force to bring the island under its rule.
Barnes said the suspect drove to the Orange County church, where he did not regularly attend, locked the doors and began shooting.
Barnes said Cheng, a survivor of a wife and two children, heroically charged the shooter and attempted to disarm him, allowing others to intervene. A shepherd hit the gunslinger on his head with a chair and the parishioners tied him up with electrical cables. But Barnes said Cheng was hit by gunfire.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department tweeted that David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas has been booked on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Jerry Chen had just entered the kitchen of the church’s fellowship hall around 1:30 pm Sunday when he heard the shots.
Chen, 72, a longtime member of the Irvine Taiwan Presbyterian Church who worships at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, peered around the corner and saw others screaming, running and ducking under tables. .
“I knew someone was shooting,” he said. “I was very, very scared. I ran out the kitchen door to call 911.”
Authorities said the shooting ended after gunslinger he killed one man and injured five elderly people before worshipers bound his legs with an electrical cable until officers arrived. Four of the five people injured suffered serious gunshot wounds; his terms were not immediately available Monday morning.
David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas has been booked on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department tweeted. Jail records show Chou is being held on $1 million bond. It is not immediately known if he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
The church was cordoned off Monday with yellow police tape and several bouquets of flowers were left outside the church grounds.
But on Sunday afternoon, Chen said he was so shaken that he couldn’t tell the operator his location when he called 911 from the church parking lot.
“I had to ask someone else for the address,” he said.
Chen said a group of about 40 congregants had gathered in the fellowship hall for lunch after a morning service to welcome their former pastor Billy Chang, a beloved and respected member of the community who had served the church for 20 years. Chang returned to Taiwan two years ago. This was his first time in the United States, Chen said.
“Everyone had just finished lunch,” he said. “They were taking photos with Pastor Chang. I had just finished my lunch and went to the kitchen.”
That’s when he heard the shots and ran away.
Shortly afterward, Chen said he heard the details of what happened inside from others who came out. Fellow members of the congregation told Chen that when the gunslinger stopped to reload, Chang hit him in the head with a chair while others moved quickly to grab his gun. He was then subdued and tied up, Chen said.
“It was amazing how brave (Chang) and the others were,” he said. “This is very sad. I never, ever thought something like this would happen in my church, in my community.”
Most of the church’s members are elderly and highly educated Taiwanese immigrants, Chen said.
“We are mostly retirees and the average age of our church is 80 years old,” he said.
Orange County Deputy Jeff Hallock praised the fast work of parishioners in apprehending the gunslinger.
“That group of parishioners displayed what we believe to be exceptional heroism and bravery in stepping in to apprehend the suspect. They certainly prevented additional injuries and deaths,” Hallock said. “I think it’s safe to say that if people hadn’t stepped in, it could have been a lot worse.”
The shooting came a day after an 18-year-old man shot and killed 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
When news of the shooting broke on the heels of the racist rampage in Buffalo, where whites gunslinger allegedly targeted a supermarket in a predominantly black neighborhood: fears spread that the Taiwanese congregation had also been the target of a hate crime.
But when the shooter was identified as an Asian man, other questions have been raised as the investigation into the violence and the gunman’s motive continues.
The case is in its early stages, Hallock said. He said the many unanswered questions include whether the gunman attended a church service, whether church members knew him and how many shots were fired.
Laguna Woods was built as a community for seniors and later became a city. More than 80% of residents in the city of 18,000 about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles are at least 65 years old. The shooting occurred in an area with a cluster of places of worship, including Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches and a Jewish synagogue.
Among those injured by gunshots were four Asian men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian woman, the sheriff’s department said.
It was not immediately clear if all the victims were of Taiwanese descent.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government has long taken a hands-off approach to religion on the island, where the majority follows Buddhism and traditional Chinese beliefs, but where Christianity and other religions also thrive.
Taiwan’s top representative to the US, Bi-khim Hsiao, offered his condolences to the families on Twitter.
“I join the families of the victims and the Taiwan American communities in mourning and praying for the speedy recovery of the injured survivors,” Hsiao wrote on Sunday.
The deadliest shooting inside a US church was in 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. AN gunslinger opened fire during a Sunday service at the First Baptist Church, killing more than two dozen people.
In 2015, Dylann Roof fired dozens of bullets during the closing prayer of a 2015 Bible study session at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine members of the black congregation were killed in the racist violence and Roof became the first person in the United States sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. Her appeal remains before the Supreme Court.
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This story has been corrected to show that Pastor Billy Chang has not retired.
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Bharath reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and John Antczak in Los Angeles also contributed to this story. News researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.
Reference-www.cp24.com