Town Meeting To Address Faith-Based Community Safety In RSM

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — Amid an uptick in hate crimes and threats targeting synagogues, mosques, temples churches and faith-based groups across the region, Rancho Santa Margarita Police Services is hosting a community meeting to address safety concerns.

The faith-based town hall meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Jan 25 at 22232 El Paseo, Rancho Santa Margarita. Alberto Martinez, Director of the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center will address vulnerability and threat assessments.

"This in-person event is a wonderful opportunity to come together as a community and discuss the future of safety in faith-based organizations," according to the Rancho Santa Margarita Police Services. "Individuals will also have the ability to learn about threat briefing, hate crimes and when to report an incident, Terrorist Evaluation Reporting Overview (TERO), vulnerability assessments, the Non-Profit Security Grant and the Department of Homeland Security."

The meeting comes as David Wenwei Chou, 70, awaits trial on 100 federal charges for the 2022 Mass shooting targeting a Laguna Woods congregation.

Chou, of Las Vegas, was indicted on 45 counts of obstructing free exercise of religious beliefs by force, which resulted in the death of one victim, attempts to kill 44 others including the use of a gun and explosives and fire.

Chou was also indicted on 45 counts of violating hate crimes with an attack on Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian congregants in Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods, court documents show.

Additional acts of hate crime have rattled Southland faith communities in recent months. Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, there has been a spike in anti-Semitic hate crime reported across Southern California, according to authorities.

Even before that, the OC Human Relations Commission, which has rebranded as Groundswell, reported last year a 67% increase in hate crimes in 2022 over the previous year. Over the past five years, there was a 75% increase in hate crimes and 142% increase in hate incidents, according to the report.