California police say 68-year-old suspect in church shooting was motivated by hate

As the US was rocked by deadly gun violence over the weekend, a shooting at an Orange county church on Sunday left southern California reeling when a gunman motivated by hate for Taiwanese people fired on congregants who managed to put a stop to the bloodshed.

The violence in Irvine, about 50 miles south-east of Los Angeles, unfolded amid a weekend of horrific gun violence across America, including in Buffalo where an 18-year-old white supremacist killed 10 people at a grocery store in a predominantly Black neighborhood. In Los Angeles, a man died in a shooting at Grand Central Market on Saturday. Some of the patrons had been discussing the shooting in New York when the shots started and forced them to flee for cover.

More people could have died in the Laguna Woods church shooting on Saturday were it not for churchgoers, authorities said. The shooter opened fire during a lunch banquet at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian, but was stopped when a pastor hit him on the head with a chair and parishioners used electrical cords to restrain him until police arrived.

John Cheng, 52, was killed in the shooting, authorities said at a Monday news conference.

Don Barnes, the Orange county sheriff, said the motive of the shooting was a grievance between the shooter, identified as a Chinese immigrant, and the Taiwanese community. China claims Taiwan is a part of its national territory and has not ruled out force to bring the island under its rule.

Barnes said Chou drove to the Orange County church, where he was not a regular attendee, secured the doors and started shooting. He had also placed four molotov cocktail-like devices inside the church, the sheriff said. Chou lawfully purchased the two 9mm pistols used in the shooting in Las Vegas, said Stephen Galloway, ATF Los Angeles assistant special agent in charge.

Barnes said Cheng, survived by a wife and two children, heroically charged at the shooter and attempted to disarm him, allowing others to intervene. A pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair and parishioners hog-tied him with electrical cords. But Barnes said Cheng was hit by gunshots.

Jerry Chen, 72, a longtime member of the church, said he had just stepped into a church kitchen when he heard gunshots and people began screaming. Peeking around the corner, he saw people running and hiding under tables.

About 40 people had gathered in the fellowship hall for a luncheon after a morning service to welcome their former Pastor Billy Chang, Chen said, who worked at the church for 20 years. Chang, a beloved and respected community member, moved back to Taiwan two years ago, Chen said, adding that this was his first time back in the US.

Laguna Woods, where the shooting occurred, was built as a senior living community and later became a city. More than 80% of residents in the city of 18,000 people are at least 65.

The shooting took place in an area with a cluster of houses of worship, including Catholic, Lutheran and Methodist churches and a Jewish synagogue.

The US has seen multiple shootings inside houses of worship in recent years. The deadliest incident was in 2017 in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where a gunman opened fire during a Sunday service at First Baptist Church and killed more than two dozen people.