COPS: HERO DOC SAVED CHURCHGOERS DURING ANTI-TAIWAN RAMPAGE
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. — A Chineseborn gunman motivated by hatred against Taiwan chained shut the doors of a California church and hid firebombs before opening fire on mainly elderly Taiwanese parishioners, killing a man who tackled him, authorities said Monday.
David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas drove to Orange County on Saturday and the next day attended a lunch held by Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the community of Laguna Woods.
He chained the doors and used super glue on the locks. He had two 9mm handguns and two bags — one with four Molotov-cocktailtype incendiary devices and the other with extra ammunition. He opened fire, and in the chaos, Dr. John Cheng, 52, tackled him and then other parishioners were able to tie him up with extension cords.
Cheng died and five people were wounded, the oldest 92. Sheriff Don Barnes called Cheng’s heroism “a meeting of good versus evil” that probably saved the lives “of upwards of dozens of people.”
Chou, who Barnes said was born in China and is a U.S. citizen, was booked on suspicion of murder and jailed on $1 million bail.
Chou’s family apparently was among many forcibly removed from China to Taiwan sometime after 1948, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. Chou’s hatred toward the island, documented in hand-written notes that authorities found, seems like it began when he felt he wasn’t treated well while living there.