California church shooting being investigated as a hate crime, suspect identified

The suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, Calif. has been identified as a Chinese immigrant, who became a US citizen. Authorities claim they have evidence pointing to the motive stemming from China’s ongoing hostilities against the island of Taiwan.

According to the Associated Press, 68-year-old David Chou has been booked and charged by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He faces one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, with the alleged motivation being animosity between the Taiwanese and Chinese community.

Those wounded in the attack were all elderly Asian people (age range from 66-years-old to 92). However, it’s not currently known whether or not the victims were Taiwanese. Michael Contreras of the Orange County Fire Authority said four out of those five injured were in either good or stable condition.

"Based on preliminary information in the investigation, it is believed the suspect involved was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan," said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. "This is a manifestation of the ugliest part of our humanity that exists within our country today."

Christine Johnson of the FBI's Los Angeles Office announced on Monday that the agency had opened a federal hate crimes investigation, in regards to the matter.

Stephen Galloway of the Los Angeles ATF said that Chou legally purchased two 9mm pistols in Las Vegas, where the suspect was living. Authorities say that Chou was not a member of the church and had no previous affiliation with the congregation prior to Sunday’s attack.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer says police discovered notes from the suspect's car that revealed David Chou's "hatred of the Taiwanese people."

It’s unclear if Chou has a lawyer at this time. He’s currently being held in jail, with his bond set at $1 million.

Around 40 congregants had gathered around 1:30 pm in the afternoon for a banquet luncheon to honor their former pastor Billy Chang who had since moved back to Taiwan a few years ago.

Chou chained the doors of the church shut, and sabotaged the locks with superglue before opening fire.  Witnesses have since described how they saw Chou walking around the area beforehand and that he came off as a total stranger to all the other churchgoers.

"Everyone had just finished lunch. They were taking photos with Pastor Chang. I had just finished my lunch and went into the kitchen," 72-year-old witness Jerry Chen told the AP. He witnessed the shooting and escaped through the kitchen’s door to call 911.

Sheriff Don Barnes described the one person who died, 52-year-old Dr. John Cheng, as a hero who saved lives by lunging at the gunman before he had the chance to kill more people.  

"They acted spontaneously, heroically, and if not for their quick action, the way that this individual set up that environment, to kill many more people, there would have been many, many more lives lost," said Barnes.

Cheng’s distraction gave the church pastor a chance to hit the gunman with a chair, and others were able to tie the suspect up with an extension cord. After police did a sweep of the scene, they found four Molotov cocktails and several bags of ammo.

Mr. Cheng leaves behind a wife and two children.

On the same day as the tragedy in Laguna Woods, two people were shot and killed at a flea market in Houston. Meanwhile on Saturday, a mass shooter killed ten at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Major shootings also occurred in Chicago and Milwaukee.