Man Opens Fire on Church and Kills One, Pastor Hits Him on Head with Chair and Churchgoers Hog-Tie Him
A man opened fire during a lunch reception at a Southern California church, killing one person and wounding five older people before a pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords.
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, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, 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 9-1-1. ”
Officials said the shooting ended after the gunman killed one man and wounded five older people before worshippers hog-tied his legs with an electrical cord until deputies arrived.
Four of the five people wounded suffered critical gunshot injuries.
While a motive for the shooting was not immediately disclosed, investigators said they don’t believe the gunman — identified on Monday as 68-year-old David Chou of Las Vegas — lives in the community.
#OCSDPIO The suspect in the Laguna Woods church shooting has been identified as David Chou, 68 years old, of Las Vegas, NV. He has been booked on one felony count of murder and five felony counts of attempted murder. More info to follow at todays press conference.
— OC Sheriff, CA (@OCSheriff) May 16, 2022
Chen, who called 911 from the church’s parking lot, said he was in such a state of shock that he was unable to tell the operator his location.
“I had to ask someone else for the address,” he said.
Chen said a group of about 40 congregants had gathered in the fellowship hall for a luncheon after a morning service to welcome former Pastor Billy Chang, who had served the church for 20 years and was a beloved and respected community member.
Chang moved back to Taiwan two years ago, and this was his first time back stateside, Chen said.
“Everyone had just finished lunch,” he said. “They were taking photos with Pastor Chang. I had just finished my lunch and went into the kitchen.”
That was when he heard the gunshots and ran out.
Soon afterward, Chen said he heard the details of what happened inside from others who came out.
Fellow congregants told Chen that when the gunman stopped to reload, Chang hit him on the head with a chair while others moved quickly to grab his gun.
They then subdued him and tied him up, Chen said.
“It was amazing how brave [Chang] and the others were,” he said.
“This is just so sad. I never, ever thought something like this would happen in my church, in my community,” Chen said.
Most of the church’s members are older, highly educated Taiwanese immigrants, he said.
“We’re mostly retirees and the average age of our church is 80,” Chen said.
Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock praised the parishioners’ quick work to detain the gunman.
“That group of churchgoers displayed what we believe is exceptional heroism and bravery in intervening to stop the suspect. They undoubtedly prevented additional injuries and fatalities,” Hallock said.
“I think it’s safe to say that had people not intervened, it could have been much worse,” he said.
The shooting came a day after an 18-year-old man was arrested in the shooting deaths of 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Laguna Woods was built as a senior living community and later became a city. More than 80 percent of residents in the city of 18,000 people about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles are at least 65.
The shooting was in an area with a cluster of houses of worship, including Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches and a Jewish synagogue.
The investigation was in its early stages, Hallock said. He said the many unanswered questions include whether the assailant attended the church service, whether he was known to church members and how many shots were fired.
The majority of those inside the church at the time were believed to be of Taiwanese descent, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff’s spokeswoman.
Those wounded by gunshots included four Asian men, ages 66, 75, 82 and 92, and an 86-year-old Asian woman, the sheriff’s department said. Authorities originally said only four of the five surviving victims had been shot.
The Presbytery of Los Ranchos, a church administrative body, addressed the shooting in a Facebook post on Sunday.
“Please keep the leadership of the Taiwanese congregation and Geneva in your prayers as they care for the those traumatized by this shooting,” the presbytery’s Tom Cramer said in a statement.
On its website, Geneva Presbyterian Church says its mission is “to remember, tell, and live the way of Jesus by being just, kind, and humble.”
“All are welcome here. Really, we mean that! … Geneva aspires to be an inclusive congregation worshipping, learning, connecting, giving and serving together.”
The deadliest shooting inside a church was in 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A gunman opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church and killed more than two dozen people.
In 2015, Dylann Roof fired dozens of bullets during the closing prayer of a 2015 Bible study session at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina. Nine members of the black congregation were killed in the racist violence, and Roof became the first person in the U.S. sentenced to death for a federal hate crime. His appeal remains before the Supreme Court.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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