OC Church Shooting Motivated By 'Hatred,' Explosives Found

LAGUNA WOODS, CA — A Las Vegas man was charged in Orange County in the shooting of a group of people gathered at a Laguna Woods church Sunday afternoon that killed one man and injured five others, authorities said.

David Chou, 68, was charged with one felony count of murder with a gun and five felony counts of attempted murder in the incident, Scott Steinle, public information officer for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, told Patch. Chou was accused of opening fire inside Geneva Presbyterian Church, 24301 El Toro Road.

The Orange County District Attorney's office will also pursue an enhancement of "lying in wait" as well as four counts of unlawful possession of explosives. Chou was accused of placing four explosive devices similar to Molotov cocktails inside the church, authorities said. Investigators also found bags that Chou brought to the church containing additional ammunition, they said.

RELATED: 'Exceptional Heroism': Laguna Woods Churchgoers 'Hogtied' Shooter

Chou faces either life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charges, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a news conference.

He was being held in Orange County on $1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Dr. John Cheng, 52, a Laguna Niguel resident and physician with South Bay Medical Group in Aliso Viejo, was killed when he charged the gunman and attempted to disarm him, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said. Cheng is survived by a wife, who was not identified, and two children.

The five injured residents were in stable condition, authorities said. No other details about their injuries were released. The sheriff's department described the five wounded victims as follows.

• A 66-year-old Asian man.
• A 92-year-old Asian man.
• An 82-year-old Asian man.
• A 75-year-old Asian man.
• An 86-year-old Asian woman.

Officials said the shooting may have been politically motivated. Chou, a Chinese immigrant, had no connection to the largely Taiwanese congregation or anyone in it, but was motivated by political tensions between China and Taiwan, Barnes said at a news conference Monday.

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Authorities said Chou may have been motivated by "hatred" toward Taiwan. Chou was born in China and is a U.S. citizen who has lived in several states, Barnes said.

Chou was accused of walking into the church as the congregation was holding a post-service banquet to honor a visiting pastor, authorities said.

Chou was accused of barricading the doors so those inside could not escape, mingling with parishioners and eventually opening fire, authorities said.

The congregation gathered in "a large room with a big stage and a big black curtain, and it had about 10 tables set up," Spitzer said in a news conference Monday at Geneva Presbyterian Church."There were red Solo Cups on the table, and you could tell that havoc had been created in that space."

He added: "There were turned-over containers of popcorn, a person left their walker behind, another person left their cane on the table, because it was obvious from the scene that they had to get out of there as quickly as possible in an utmost panic."

Behind the church hall's black curtain, authorities found extra ammunition and weaponry, Spitzer said.

Chao had chained the doors of the church shut and tried to use super glue to keep other doors sealed, authorities said.

"I will tell you that evil was in that church yesterday," Spitzer said.

Barnes praised Cheng. "Dr. Cheng is a hero in this incident," Barnes said, adding that the doctor's actions bought time for other parishioners to subdue the suspect and eventually hogtie him. The churchgoers disarmed the gunman, authorities said.

"Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, there is no doubt there would be additional victims in this crime," Barnes said. “The parishioners acted spontaneously, heroically, and, if not for their quick actions, there would have been many more lives lost if not for the efforts of the concerted members of that church."

The shooting was under investigation by the sheriff's department, the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Congregant Jerry Chen, 72, told the Los Angeles Times he was in a nearby kitchen at the church just before 1:30 p.m. Sunday when he heard the shots.

RELATED: Churchgoers Hogtie Gunman Who Killed 1 And Wounded 5 In Laguna Woods

"I heard the gun sounds," he said. "Then I heard two or three more gunshots. He was just randomly shooting."

Chen told the Times he saw the pastor, Billy Chang, hit the gunman with a chair when the shooter paused to reload his weapon. Other members of the congregation tackled him.

Laguna Woods was built as a living community for older people and later became a city. More than 80 percent of residents in the city of 18,000 people are at least 65.

About 30 people witnessed the violence, said Carrie Braun, a sheriff's spokesperson. The majority of those inside the church were believed to be of Taiwanese descent, Braun said.

The gunfire erupted during a lunch reception honoring Chang, according to a statement from the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, a church administrative body.

"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 Facebook.

Barnes acknowledged the community's pain in the aftermath of the shooting.

"This afternoon's shooting is a tragedy for our community. This type of violence, particularly within the sanctuary of a church, should never occur," he said in a written statement.

"I am proud of the brave church attendees who took action to subdue the subject before he could injure or kill other church members. Please keep the victims in your thoughts and prayers. The best thing our community can do right now is stand in support of the victims and their families."

City News Service contributed to this report.