California shooting at church in Laguna Woods leaves one dead; congregants hog-tied gunman

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Adam Sabes | Fox News


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Police in California said that four people have been critically wounded, and one person is dead after a shooting at a Laguna Woods church on Sunday afternoon.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department said that one person has been detained, and they have recovered a weapon that may have been involved in the incident. An additional person suffered minor injuries in the shooting, according to police.

The shooting took place at Geneva Presbyterian Church.

The sheriff's office said that the suspect was detained at the scene.

The sheriff's office said it received a call of a shooting inside the church at 1:26 p.m. PT.

Officials described the suspect as an Asian male in his 60s, but did not give any details on a possible motive.

Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said during a press conference that churchgoers displayed "exceptional heroism and bravery" during the incident, and without their quick actions, there could have been more casualties. Hallock added that the churchgoers detained the gunman by using an extension cord to hogtie him and confiscate the weapons.

He also said there were 30 to 40 people inside the church during the incident.

Hallock said that two handguns were recovered from the scene.
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The Orange County Fire Authority said in a Sunday afternoon tweet that multiple people are being treated and transported to nearby hospitals.

Federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also at the scene of the incident.

A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff said that a large number of people inside the church at the time of the shooting were Taiwanese.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office tweeted that it is monitoring the incident, adding that "No one should have to fear going to their place of worship."

"We are actively monitoring the shooting at a church in Laguna Woods and working closely with local law enforcement," his office tweeted. "No one should have to fear going to their place of worship. Our thoughts are with the victims, community, and all those impacted by this tragic event."
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[lost in melb.]

:no:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

ALBERTO LUPERON - Law & Crime


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In addition to identifying a heroic, slain victim and the man the suspected of killing him, authorities revealed the alleged motive behind a mass shooting that occurred Sunday in a church in Laguna Woods, California.

The shooter is a U.S. Citizen and an immigrant from China who was angry about the situation between his birth nation and Taiwan, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said in a press conference on Monday. Accordingly, the suspect allegedly targeted a church with Taiwanese congregants.

The lawman did not speak the suspect’s name, but his office identified the individual as David Chou, 68.

“It is believed the suspect involved was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan,” Barnes told reporters.

The sheriff honored the slain victim—52-year-old sports medicine Dr. John Cheng—for charging the shooter.

“Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, it is no doubt that there’d be numerous additional victims in this crime,” the sheriff said.
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The shooting happened Sunday at the Geneva Presbyterian Church. The Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which uses the space for services, was holding a lunch banquet celebrating the return of one of their pastors, who had been out on a mission trip to Taiwan.

Chou drove to the church on Sunday, bringing two handguns and backup magazines with him, authorities said. He also allegedly placed Molotov cocktail-like incendiary devices throughout the church. During lunch, he secured the doors with chains, and tried to disable locks with superglue, Barnes said. Chou allegedly started shooting, wounding five people with gunshots.

The sheriff’s office has described the wounded victims as a 66-year-old man, 75-year-old man, 82-year-old man, 86-year-old woman, and a 92-year-old man. All of them are Asian.

There were approximately 50 people attending the banquet, most of them elderly with ages up to 92, authorities said. Cheng, one of the youngest people there, rushed Chou and tackled him, authorities said. That act of heroism came at the cost of his own life.

“Dr. Cheng, 52, of Laguna Niguel, took heroic actions that day,” he said. “In fact, I want to pause and tell you that Dr. Cheng is a hero in this incident.”

Cheng died at the scene.

“He sacrificed himself so that others could live,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “That irony in a church is not lost on me.”

Authorities previously lauded churchgoers with subduing the suspect and hogtying him with an extension cord, though they did not yet reveal Cheng’s sacrifice.

Authorities previously said that four of the injured people were in critical condition, while a fifth received minor injuries. In an update Monday, Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Mike Contreras said two people were in “good” condition upgraded from stable and two others were in stable condition, but Contreras did not have an update on the status of a fifth individual.

The investigation is ongoing, with officials saying they executed search warrants on Chou’s vehicle in the parking lot, and his residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. Spitzer announced charges of first-degree murder with a use of a gun, including special circumstances of lying in wait. There are also five counts of attempted murder.

The question now is whether authorities will also pursue hate crime charges.

“And we do know that based on information we’ve collected–and I’m not going to go to go onto the details of that evidence–was a politically motivated hate incident, a grievance that this individual had between himself and the Taiwanese community at large,” the sheriff said.

Chou’s “hatred of Taiwan manifested” from his time living there in the past, “possibly in his youth,” the sheriff said.

“He was not well received while living there,” the sheriff said, citing evidence collected.

Spitzer emphasized Chou had a bias against the Taiwanese people or country, but said they have to let the investigation play itself out, so they can prove a hate crime enhancement beyond a reasonable doubt.

[DemonGeminiX]

#StandWithTaiwan #FuckChina