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Laguna Woods church shooting is mass shooting that occurred on May 15, 2022 in Laguna Woods, California, United States. It took place at the Geneva Presbyterian Church, which hosts the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church's Sunday services. The majority of the congregation present on that day were Taiwanese American. One person was killed, and five others were injured, four of them critically. A suspect, 68-year old David Chou, was taken into custody. He is charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder.

Shooting

The shooter attacked during a luncheon after church service. Police were alerted at about 1:26 p.m. PDT (UTC-7). There were between 30 and 40 people inside the church at the time. The church doors had been chained shut, and glue was placed in the locks. Four items similar to Molotov cocktails had been stored inside the church. An attendee, John Cheng, charged the shooter and tried to disarm him. He was hit by gunfire and later died. Cheng, 52, was a sports medicine physician based in Laguna Niguel.

A pastor in the church hit the shooter on the head with a chair. Several attendees hogtied the shooter with an extension cord, and confiscated two handguns, which were recovered by police.

Accused

David Chou (born 1953; 周文偉) was arrested and charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. He is a U.S. citizen born in Taiwan, but misidentified as born in China by American authorities. Around 50 years ago, the place of birth on Taiwanese passports displayed "Republic of China" (ROC), and Taiwanese immigrants usually put down "China" as their birthplace when filling out paperwork. Chou's family was apparently forcibly evacuated to Taiwan during the ROC's retreat in 1949.

Chou worked as a security guard in Las Vegas and allegedly drove into Orange County, California on Saturday. He had legally purchased two 9mm pistols in Las Vegas and is not affiliated with the church. He was pictured as a retired professor in a 2019 local news story on the founding of the Las Vegas chapter of National Association for China's Peaceful Unification.

The motive is unknown, but county sheriff Don Barnes suspects it to be a politically motivated hate crime regarding Taiwanese-Chinese tensions. According to his statements, there were notes in the Chou's vehicle alluding to "his hatred of the Taiwanese people", which is believed to stem from his past residence there, possibly during his youth. His wife lives in Taiwan.

According to his former neighbor, Chou had been a pleasant man and the owner of a Las Vegas apartment building. Several years ago he was nearly beaten to death by a tenant and suffered a head injury. After he sold the property, Chou fired a gun inside the apartment and was evicted, although no one was hurt from the incident. The neighbor said Chou’s mental ability appeared to have diminished and he might have become homeless.

Investigation

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting the Orange County Sheriff's Department with the investigation. The FBI said it is investigating the incident as a hate crime. Kristi Johnson, assistant director of its Los Angeles field office, said they "have discovered evidence that the individual was motivated by some kind of hate."

See also

• List of mass shootings in the United States in 2022
• List of shootings in California

References

1. Tebor, Christal Hayes and Celina. "'Exceptional heroism': California churchgoers stopped rampage, hogtied suspect after deadly shooting". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
2. ^ Tebor, Celina; Hayes, Christal (May 15, 2022). "'Exceptional heroism': California churchgoers stopped rampage, hogtied suspect after deadly shooting". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
3. "Churchgoers hogtie gunman after 1 killed, 5 wounded at Laguna Woods church". Orange County Register. May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
4. "Five Injured, One Dead in Shooting at Laguna Woods Church; Suspected Shooter in Custody". KNBC. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
5. "OC Sheriff, CA on Twitter". Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
6. ^ "Laguna Woods shooting - live: Churchgoers 'hogtied' shooter with power cord after one killed and five injured". The Independent. May 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
7. ^ Bernstein, Sharon; Hay, Andrew (May 16, 2022). "California church shooter was motivated by hate, politics". Reuters. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
8. ^ Taxin, Amy; Bharath, Deepa; Dazio, Stefanie; Antczak, John; Shafner, Rhonda (May 16, 2022). "Authorities say hate against Taiwanese people led to California church attack". PBS NewsHour. The Associated Press. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
9. ^ Stanton, Ryan W. Miller, Christal Hayes, Celina Tebor and Cady. "Deadly shooting at California church a 'hate incident' against Taiwanese community, authorities say". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 17, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. Blankstein, Andrew; Dienst, Jonathan; Romero, Dennis (May 15, 2022). "1 dead, 5 injured, man detained in shooting at California Asian church reception". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
11. "Who's In Jail - Inmate Info". Orange County Sheriff's Department. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
12. ^ "南加州教會槍殺案 駐處查證凶嫌周文偉為台灣移民" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
13. ^ Taxin, Amy; Bharath, Deepa; Dazio, Stefanie; Antczak, John; Shafner, Rhonda (May 16, 2022). "Authorities say hate against Taiwanese people led to California church attack". PBS NewsHour. The Associated Press. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
14. ^ "Authorities: Hate against Taiwanese led to church attack". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
15. ^ "Laguna Woods church shooter is Vegas man 'upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan': Sheriff". KTLA. May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
16. "拉斯維加斯中國和平統一促進會正式成立 - 維加斯新聞報" [Las Vegas NACPU chapter formally established]. Las Vegas Chinese News Network (in Chinese). April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
17. Dovarganes, Damian; Weber, Christopher (May 15, 2022). "California churchgoers detained gunman in deadly attack". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
18. Medina, Eduardo (May 15, 2022). "1 Dead and 4 Are Critically Injured in California Church Shooting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.

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