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2022 Laguna Woods shooting

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Revision as of 08:28, 18 May 2022 by AlHazen (talk | contribs) (→perpetrator: More accurate header)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Mass shooting in Laguna Woods, California

Laguna Woods church shooting
Location24301 El Toro Road, Laguna Woods, California, United States
Coordinates33°36′35″N 117°44′00″W / 33.60964°N 117.73338°W / 33.60964; -117.73338
DateMay 15, 2022 (2022-05-15)
c. 1:25 p.m. (PDT)
Attack typeMass shooting
WeaponsTwo handguns
Deaths1
Injured5
MotiveAnti-Taiwanese sentiment (suspected)
AccusedDavid Chou
Charges

The Laguna Woods church shooting was a 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

At around 10:10 a.m., a man entered the sanctuary. The receptionist, who did not recognize him, welcomed him to the sanctuary and asked him to complete a form providing his personal details. He refused, claiming to have come to the church prior and completed the form. During his time in the church many reported that the accused socialized and mingled with other attendees. Churchgoers said the shooter spoke to them in Taiwanese.

The shooter attacked during a luncheon after the 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. A pastor in the church hit the shooter on the head with a chair and several attendees hogtied the shooter with an extension cord, immobilizing him, and confiscated two handguns, which were recovered by police.

Victims

The deceased victim John Cheng (鄭達志), 52, was a sports medicine physician based in Laguna Niguel.

Five other victims, all of Chinese descent and aged between 66 and 92, were also shot but survived their injuries. Four of the victims were male, while the fifth victim was a 86-year-old female.

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.

The Orange Country District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Chou may face the death penalty for the murder of Cheng, whom Orange Country Sheriff Don Barnes commended as a heroic figure who prevented Chou from killing and/or hurting more people through his blocking of Chou prior to his fatal shooting.

perpetrator

David Wenwei Chou (born 1953; 周文偉) was arrested and charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. According to a World Journal interview with Chou's friends, he is a second-generation waishengren – born in Taiwan to those who had evacuated from mainland China during the ROC's retreat in 1949. Chou was raised in a military dependents' village.

He graduated from the Taichung First Senior High School in Taiwan in 1971. and completed a master's degree in the U.S. during the 1990s. Chou accepted a lectureship at the National Pingtung Institute of Commerce for the 1994 academic year. He has been misidentified as born in "China" by American authorities; paperwork from 50 years ago usually had "China" as the place of birth for immigrants from Taiwan.

Chou was not affiliated with the Taiwanese church. He was pictured as a retired professor in a 2019 local news story on the founding of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association for China's Peaceful Unification. Chou has taught bartending in schools in Taiwan and mainland China and authored several publications. He was also a translator of immigration documents. After retirement, he sometimes worked as a security guard in Las Vegas. He had legally purchased two 9mm pistols there.

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 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. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan has played a significant role in Taiwan's democratization.

In early 2022, Chou left Las Vegas for Los Angeles. His wife had returned to Taiwan in 2021 due to an illness.

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.

Legal proceedings

Chou first appeared in court on May 17, while being held on $1 million bond. In relation to Cheng's death, Chou is facing the most serious charge of one count of murder by firearm, which carries either the death penalty or life imprisonment. Chou also faces five charges of attempted murder for injuring the five elderly survivors, as well as four counts of unlawful possession of explosives, and a special circumstances allegation of lying in wait.

Reactions

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen condemned the shooting, and offered condolences to the victims. She asked for the political representatives in the US to fly to California to provide assistance. Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador, posted on Twitter that she was “shocked and saddened by the fatal shooting at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church in California", and she expressed she would mourn together with the Taiwanese-American community and families of the victims. The Taiwanese Kuomintang issued a statement condemning the shooting without commenting on Chou's political positions.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China's ministry of foreign affairs, expressed his hope that the American authorities can take action against the country's rising rate of severity of gun violence. The Chinese Embassy has also responded to the Associated Press via email to express "condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured."

See also

References

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