Authorities: Hate against Taiwanese led to church attack
LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. — A gunman in a deadly attack at a Southern California church was a Chinese immigrant motivated by hate for Taiwanese people, authorities said.
The shooter killed Dr. John Cheng, 52, and wounded five others during a lunch held by Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, authorities said at a Monday news conference.
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said the motive of the shooting was a grievance between the shooter, identified as a Chinese immigrant and U.S. citizen, and the Taiwanese community. China claims Taiwan is a 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 was not a regular attendee, secured the doors and started shooting. The gunman had placed 4 Molotov cocktail-like devices inside the church, the sheriff said.
Barnes said Cheng, survived by a wife and two children, heroically charged at the shooter and attempted to disarm him, allowing others to intervene. Cheng probably saved the lives “of upwards of dozens of people,” the sheriff said.
A pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords. But Cheng was hit by gunshots.
“Understanding that there was elderly everywhere and they couldn’t get out of the premises because the doors had been chained .. he took it upon himself to charge across the room and to do everything he could to disable the assailant,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
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. The suspect lawfully purchased the two 9mm pistols in Las Vegas, said Stephen Galloway, ATF Los Angeles assistant special agent in charge.
The suspect made brief comments when he was taken into custody and then asked for an attorney, Barnes said.
Jerry Chen had just stepped into the kitchen of the church’s fellowship hall around 1:30 p.m. Sunday when he heard the gunshots.
Chen, 72, a longtime member of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, peeked 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. “
Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries. Orange County Fire Authority official Michael Contreras said two of the wounded were in good condition, two were in stable condition and the status of the fifth patient was undetermined.
“I will tell you that evil was in that church yesterday,” Spitzer said.
There is a lot of evidence that the suspect “had an absolute bias against the Taiwanese people, its country, as a Chinese or mainland national,” Spitzer said.
The suspect left notes in his vehicle concerning “his hatred of the Taiwanese people,” the sheriff said.