Murder and tried homicide prices had been filed Tuesday in California towards a person who officers stated opened fireplace on Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church members, an assault federal authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, was armed with handguns and Molotov cocktails within the taking pictures, authorities stated. Churchgoers subdued and hogtied him on the Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods on Sunday after he fatally shot one congregant and wounded 5 others gathering for a day luncheon, officers in Orange County stated Monday.
Dr. John Cheng, 52, was killed within the assault when he charged the gunman and tried to disarm him, authorities stated.
Chou was booked on homicide and tried homicide prices in what Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes on Monday known as a “politically motivated hate incident.”
A federal hate crime investigation was opened, stated Kristi Johnson, assistant director in control of the FBI’s Los Angeles area workplace. The suspect allegedly focused the church, which hosted the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church congregation, due to political grievances over tensions between China and Taiwan, Barnes stated.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated Tuesday that his workplace is charging Chou with 10 completely different counts, together with first-degree homicide with enhancements of mendacity in wait and for private use of a firearm; 5 counts of tried homicide with premeditation and deliberation; and 4 counts of possession of 4 damaging gadgets with the intent to kill or to hurt.
Chou didn’t enter a plea throughout his first court docket look on Tuesday. His arraignment was continued to June 10.
He will proceed to be held with out bail. His public defender, Tania Vallejo, didn’t instantly return an e-mail requesting remark.
Spitzer stated the “lying in wait” enhancement on the homicide cost comes because of Chou making an attempt to hide himself throughout the congregation earlier than the taking pictures.
“He did everything he could to fit in, to make himself one of them,” Spitzer stated. “We typically think of the person who hides in the bushes. … This case is about the person concealing themselves in plain view.”
Spitzer did not apply a hate crime enhancement to the charges.
“While there’s very robust proof proper now that this was motivated by hate, we need to ensure that now we have put collectively all of the proof that confirms that idea of the case,” Spitzer said.
‘HATE INCIDENT’:Deadly shooting at California church a ‘hate incident’ against Taiwanese community, authorities say
‘A meeting of good versus evil’
Barnes called Cheng’s heroism in attempting to stop the gunman “a gathering of fine versus evil.” About 50 people were inside the church for a luncheon after morning services when the shooting began, authorities said.
“The majority of the folks in attendance had been aged, they usually acted spontaneously, heroically,” Barnes said Monday. “If not for his or her fast motion, the best way that this particular person arrange that surroundings to kill many extra folks, there would have been many, many extra lives misplaced if not for the concerted effort of the members of that church.”
After the gunman arrived at the church, he tried to secure the doors with chains, nails and superglue before opening fire, police said. The gunman was armed with two pistols legally purchased in Nevada, and police found several bags with magazines of ammunition and Molotov cocktails in the church, Barnes said.
Cheng charged the gunman, which allowed others to intervene to stop the shooting. A pastor hit the gunman on the head with a chair, and parishioners hogtied him with electrical cords. He was still tied when police arrived.
Barnes said Cheng’s action probably saved the lives “of upwards of dozens of people.”
Cheng was pronounced lifeless on the scene. Four males ages 66 to 92 and an 86-year-old lady had been injured within the taking pictures.
‘EXCEPTIONAL HEROISM’:California churchgoers stopped rampage, hogtied suspect after lethal taking pictures
A husband and father of two, Cheng had a rising memorial in his honor exterior his medical observe in close by Aliso Viejo.
“They’re devastated,” South Coast Medical Group Executive Director Johanna Gherardini informed KABC-TV of Cheng’s household. “He was their man.”
Gherardini informed the TV station Cheng practiced martial arts and was an advocate for folks studying self-defense. “He was a protector, and that’s exactly what he did,” Gherardini stated.
A biography web page for Cheng on his observe’s web site says his father was additionally a doctor. He grew up in a small city in Texas and studied at Texas Tech School of Medicine earlier than his residency on the University of California at Los Angeles.
“It is rare to find a family doctor so well able to give quality care in such a wide variety of situations and arenas. His commitment to care conventionally and holistically for his patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs continues to delight his new patients and long-term patients alike,” the biography web page says.
‘Isolated incident’ was fueled by hatred, sheriff says
The suspect harbored grievances towards Taiwan and focused the church in an “isolated incident,” Barnes stated. Authorities stated it was unclear why Chou, who had been dwelling in Nevada, focused that particular church, and that he didn’t have any identified ties with the church or its congregants.
Barnes stated Chou was a Chinese immigrant dwelling within the USA “for many years,” however Louis Huang, director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, informed Taiwan’s Central News Agency that his workplace obtained information displaying Chou was born in Taiwan in 1953.
Spitzer stated Chou’s household apparently was amongst many forcibly faraway from China to Taiwan after 1948. The wave of individuals from China who settled in Taiwan throughout that period are identified in Mandarin as “waishengren,” or these “born outside.”
Barnes stated investigators discovered handwritten notes in Chou’s automotive supporting their perception that hatred of Taiwan fueled the assault. “I believe his hatred of Taiwan manifested when he was residing there in previous years, possibly in his youth,” Barnes stated.
Tensions between China, Taiwan highest in many years
Tensions between China and Taiwan are on the highest in many years. Beijing stepped up its army presence by flying fighter jets towards the self-governing island. China has not dominated out drive to reunify with Taiwan, which break up from the mainland throughout a civil warfare in 1949.
Taiwan’s chief consultant within the USA, Bi-khim Hsiao, stated she was “shocked and saddened” by the taking pictures. “I join the families of the victims and Taiwanese American communities in grief and pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded survivors,” she tweeted Sunday.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu stated the Chinese authorities has “consistently condemned incidents of violence. We express our condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the bereaved families and the injured.”
Jerry Chen, 72, who was on the church Sunday, informed The Associated Press the luncheon was being held for former Pastor Billy Chang. Chang had served the church for greater than 20 years however moved again to Taiwan, and this go to was his first time again, Chen stated.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Mary Chao, USA TODAY Network