Calif. church shooting suspect faces murder, other criminal counts
SANTA ANA, Calif. — Prosecutors have charged the suspect in the California church shooting with one count of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer also announced Tuesday that David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas faces an enhancement for “lying in wait,” as well as four counts of possessing destructive devices with intent to kill or harm. Arraignment is expected later Tuesday.
“We typically think of the person who hides in the bushes,” Spitzer said. “This case is about the person concealing themselves in plain view.”
Authorities have said Chou — a U.S. citizen whom authorities say grew up in Taiwan — was motivated by hatred of Taiwanese people. A federal hate crimes investigation is also ongoing.
If convicted as charged and a jury finds the enhancements to be true, Chou would face a sentence of either life in prison without possibility of parole or the death penalty, Spitzer said.
“While there’s very strong evidence right now that this was motivated by hate, we want to make sure we have put together all the evidence that confirms that theory in the case,” Spitzer said.
Chou is accused of opening fire during a Sunday luncheon for members of Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the community of Laguna Woods.
Though he knew no one there, Chou spent about an hour mingling with about 40 attendees at Sunday’s luncheon and then executed his plot, authorities said.
He chained the doors and put super glue in the keyholes, authorities said. He had two legally purchased 9 mm handguns and three bags containing, among other things, four Molotov-cocktail-type incendiary devices and extra ammunition. He opened fire and in the ensuing chaos Dr. John Cheng, 52, tackled him, allowing other parishioners to subdue him and tie him up with extension cords, authorities said.
Cheng died and five people were wounded, including an 86-year-old woman as well as four men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, the sheriff ’s department said. Authorities on Monday said two of the wounded were in good condition, two were in stable condition and the status of the fifth patient was undetermined.
Baby formula bill: House Democrats unveiled a $28 million emergency spending bill Tuesday to address the shortage of infant formula in the United States.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the Democratic chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the money would increase Food and Drug Administration staffing to boost inspections of domestic and international suppliers, prevent fraudulent products from getting onto store shelves and acquire better data on the marketplace.
The shortage stems from a February recall by Abbott Nutrition that exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers.
The House is expected to take up the emergency spending measure later this week. The bill would also need approval in an evenly divided Senate, where it will need support from at least 10
Republicans before it could be signed into law.
It’s unclear where Republicans stand on the bill.
Dallas shooting suspect: The girlfriend of a man arrested in Dallas Tuesday for a May 11 shooting that wounded three women in a Koreatown hair salon told police he had been admitted to health facilities because he was having delusions about Asian Americans, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Jeremy Theron Smith, 37, faces three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.
The FBI said that it has opened a federal hate crime investigation along with federal prosecutors in Texas and the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division.
Smith, who is Black, is jailed and no bond has been set.
According to the affidavit, Smith’s girlfriend told authorities that whenever
Smith is around an Asian American, “he begins having delusions that the Asian mob is after him or attempting to harm him.”
She told detectives he had been having such delusions since being involved in a car crash about two years ago with a man of Asian descent.
More free COVID-19 tests:
The website for people to request free COVID-19 at-home tests from the U.S. government is accepting a third round of orders.
The White House announced Tuesday that U.S. households can request an additional eight free athome tests.
The announcement comes as coronavirus cases are rising again in some areas of the country.
President Joe Biden committed in January to making 1 billion tests available to the public free of charge, including 500 million available through covidtests.gov. But just 350 million of the amount available
for ordering online have been shipped to date, the White House said.
People who have difficulty getting online or need help placing an order can call 1-800-232-0233.
Tequila for the pope: Doctors have prescribed a wheelchair, cane and physical therapy to help heal Pope Francis’ bad knee. He has other ideas.
According to a viral video of the pope after a recent audience, Francis quipped that what he really needs for the pain is a shot of tequila.
Francis was riding in the popemobile in St. Peter’s Square when he stopped near a group of Mexican seminarians who asked him how his knee was doing.
“Do you know what I need for my knee?” Francis asked them from the vehicle. “Some tequila.”
The seminarians laughed and promised to deliver a bottle to the Santa Marta hotel where Francis lives.
The 85-year-old Argentine
has been suffering from strained ligaments in his right knee for months.
Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group and its allies lost their parliamentary majority, final elections results showed Tuesday, while more than a dozen independent newcomers gained seats. The outcome signaled a shift in a country devastated by an ongoing financial meltdown and soaring poverty.
Formal results for Sunday’s elections showed no clear majority for any group.
That indicates a fragmented and polarized parliament that will likely find it difficult to form a new government and enact desperately needed reforms.
The Hezbollah-led coalition won 61 seats in the 128-member legislature, a drop of 10 members since the last vote was held four years ago, but not expected to weaken its own domination of Lebanese politics.