Dr. John Cheng.Photo: South Coast Medical Group
Before the service, authorities say, David Chou, 68, entered the church and joined the congregation, socializing and mingling with the congregants who didn’t know him but welcomed him into the church.
During the lunch banquet, Chou, a Chinese immigrant and a security guard who lived in Las Vegas, allegedly locked the outside church doors with chains and tried to super glue the locks. He also tried to nail at least one door shut. And then he allegedly started shooting.
According to authorities, congregant Dr. John Cheng, a 52-year-old father of two, acted swiftly and heroically.
“It is known that Dr. Cheng charged the suspect, attempted to disarm him, which allowed other parishioners to then intercede, taking the suspect into custody,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said at a Monday afternoon press conference.
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Barnes said one of the congregants threw a chair at the suspect.
“Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, [there] is no doubt there would be numerous additional victims in this crime,” said Barnes.
Barnes said Cheng was fatally shot during the altercation with the suspect and pronounced dead at the scene.
Five people were wounded in the shooting, including four men who were between the ages of 66 and 92, and one woman believed to be 86.
‘One of the Most Horrific Hate Crimes’: Sheriff
“Evidence was collected linking him to this crime based on preliminary information in the investigation, it is believed the suspect involved was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan,” he said.
“I believe his hatred of Taiwan manifested when he was residing there in previous years, possibly in his youth,” Barnes said. “He was not well received while living there.”
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It is “one of the most horrific hate crimes I’ve seen,” Barnes added.
Barnes said investigators are still trying to determine why Chou targeted the Orange County church. They believe he may have picked it because he thought it was the church with a large number of Taiwanese congregants closest to his home. Barnes said Chou was “very intentional in his plan.”
“We know that he formulated a strategy that he wanted to employ,” he said. “It was very well thought out, from how he had prepared both being there, securing location, placing things about the inside of the room to perpetuate additional victims, if he had the opportunity.”
At the scene, investigators found two 9mm handguns, magazines of ammunition and Molotov-cocktails.
Chou has been booked on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder, theLosAngelesTimesreported. It was not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney to comment on his behalf.
source: people.com
