DA: Church gunman wanted to ‘execute’ as many as possible
Note shows he was motivated by hatred of Taiwanese people
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The man charged with opening fire on a Taiwanese church congregation of mainly elderly people in Southern California wanted to “execute in cold blood as many people in that room as possible,” a prosecutor said Tuesday in announcing murder, attempted murder and other charges for the shooting that killed one person and wounded five.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer referred to David Chou, 68, as a monster whose rampage was thwarted by the heroic actions of a doctor who charged at him, a pastor who hit Chou with a chair and several parishioners who tied him up until police arrived.
“This monster crafted a diabolical plan to lock the church doors with his victims inside in order to lead what he thought were innocent lambs to slaughter,” Spitzer said. “But what he didn’t realize was the parishioners at the church that day were not lambs — they were lions and they fought back against the evil that tried to infiltrate their house of worship.”
Spitzer said Chou was motivated by hatred for Taiwan, where he was born after his family was forced from mainland China when Communists prevailed in a civil war that ended in 1949. He apparently chose the church at random and did not know anyone there, authorities said.
He drove from his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saturday and arrived at the church the next day. Chou spent about an hour mingling with members of the congregation at a luncheon, which Spitzer said was Chou’s way of gaining their trust so they wouldn’t notice as he began chaining closed doors, super gluing locks and placing incendiary devices in several locations.
Chou’s method amounted to “lying in wait,” Spitzer said, a legal designation that can enhance penalties if he is convicted. If Chou is convicted and the jury finds the enhancements to be true, he would face either life in prison without possibility of parole or the death penalty, Spitzer said.
Chou’s arraignment was continued to June 10 and he did not enter a plea at his first court appearance Tuesday. He will continue to be held without bail. His public defender, Tania Vallejo, did not immediately return an email requesting comment.
Authorities have said Chou — a U.S. citizen who worked for years as a security guard — was motivated by a hatred of Taiwanese people documented in handwritten notes found by authorities. Spitzer said he is considering hate crime charges, but needs more time to investigate. Federal authorities are conducting their own hate crime investigation.
Chou had ties to a Las Vegas, Nevada, organization opposed to Taiwan’s independence from China, according to Taiwanese media. A former neighbor in Las Vegas, Nevada, said Chou’s wife left him last year and returned to Taiwan. Spitzer said she is terminally ill.