Church Attack was Motivated by Anti-Taiwanese Prejudice – Police

By Michael V. Bolgent

Administrator

Posted: May 16, 2022 at 9:20 PM, Updated: May 16, 2022 at 9:20 PM

An Orange County Sheriffs Department officer guards the grounds at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods California.

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Authorities said that the person who killed people at a church in California was a Chinese immigrant who hated Taiwanese people.

At a Monday news conference, authorities announced that Dr. John Cheng, 52, was murdered and five others were injured in a shooting at a Southern California church.

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Sheriff Don Barnes of Orange County stated the shooting was motivated by a grudge between the shooter, a Chinese immigrant, and the Taiwanese community. China says that Taiwan is part of its territory, and it hasn’t ruled out using force to take control of the island.

According to Barnes, the suspect drove to an Orange County church where he wasn’t a regular visitor, locked the doors, and began firing.

According to Barnes, Cheng, who is survived by his wife and two children, charged at the shooter and sought to disarm him heroically, allowing others to intervene. The gunman was hog-tied with electrical cords after a pastor whacked him in the head with a chair. Cheng, though, was injured by gunfire, according to Barnes.

David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Jerry Chen had just entered the fellowship hall’s kitchen at about 1.30 p.m. Sunday, Los Angeles time when he heard gunshots.

Chen, 72, an Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church member who worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, peered around the corner and saw others yelling, running, and cowering beneath tables.

Officials claimed the gunman killed one man and injured five elderly people before worshippers hog-tied his legs with an electrical cable until deputies arrived. Four of the five people who were hurt had serious gunshot wounds, and as of Monday morning, we didn’t know how they were doing.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder.
Chou is being jailed on $1 million bails, according to jail records. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.

On Monday, yellow police tape was used to surround the church, and many bouquets of flowers were left outside.

When he contacted 911 from the church’s parking lot on Sunday afternoon, Chen said he was in such a state of shock that he couldn’t tell the operator his location.

Chen said that after the morning service, about 40 people met in the fellowship hall for lunch to welcome former pastor Billy Chang, who had served the church for 20 years and was well-known and respected in the area.

Chang returned to Taiwan almost two years ago. Chen stated that this was his first trip back to the United States.

When he heard gunfire, he bolted outside.

Chen claimed he learned the facts of what transpired inside from others who came out shortly after. Chang allegedly smashed the gunman in the head with a chair while others reacted quickly to remove his rifle, according to fellow congregants. Chen stated that they then subdued him and bound him.

According to Chen, the majority of the church’s members are older, well-educated Taiwanese immigrants.

Undersheriff Jeff Hallock of Orange County was happy with how quickly the parishioners caught the attacker.

The shooting occurred just one day after an 18-year-old man opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, killing ten people.

People were worried that the shooting was a hate crime because it happened so soon after a racist shooting spree in Buffalo, where a white gunman allegedly attacked a supermarket in a mostly black neighborhood.

But while the investigation into the shooting and the gunman’s motives is still going on, new questions were raised when the shooter was found to be an Asian man.

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