A gunman accused of killing one person and wounding five others inside a Southern California church over the weekend was upset about the state of relations between China and Taiwan, law-enforcement officials said Monday.
The deadly assault happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday and is being investigated as a possible “politically motivated hate incident,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said at a press conference.
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A gunman accused of killing one person and wounding five others inside a Southern California church over the weekend was upset about the state of relations between China and Taiwan, law-enforcement officials said Monday.
The deadly assault happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday and is being investigated as a possible “politically motivated hate incident,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said at a press conference.
Dr. John Cheng, 52 years old, a husband and father to two children, was killed in the shooting, Mr. Barnes said.
Dr. Cheng and the five people wounded in the attack were attending a lunch banquet held by the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. That church worships in the Geneva Presbyterian Church in the Laguna Woods neighborhood, a hilltop retirement community popular with Asian-Americans.
When the suspect began shooting, Dr. Cheng ran at him and a pastor threw a chair at him, Mr. Barnes said. The other parishioners managed to restrain the suspect and tie him up with electrical cords before police arrived, he said.
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“Dr. Cheng is a hero,” said Sheriff Barnes. “Without the actions of Dr. Cheng, there is no doubt there would have been numerous other victims in this crime.”
The five wounded parishioners are Asian-American, the sheriff said. They range in age from 66 to 92 years old.
The California shooting came a day after a gunman wearing combat gear opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., killing 10 people and wounding three others. Police said the suspect was targeting Black people.
The Orange County sheriff’s office identified the suspected gunman as David Chou, 68 years old, of Las Vegas. He has been booked on one felony count of murder and five felony counts of attempted murder, according to authorities.
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the assault as a possible hate crime, authorities said.
The suspected gunman, a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen, was acting on a grievance he had against the Taiwanese community, according to the Orange County sheriff’s office. Mr. Barnes said the suspect had previously lived in Taiwan, where his wife is now, and wasn’t well received while there.
“It is believed the suspect involved was upset about political tensions between China and Taiwan,” Mr. Barnes said.
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The state of relations between China and Taiwan is a politically charged issue. The self-ruled island of 24 million people is led by a democratically elected government but Beijing claims sovereignty over Taiwan.
The Taiwan government’s Overseas Community Affairs Council issued a statement on Sunday expressing its condolences and offering its assistance.
Cross-strait tensions have grown under Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose military regularly tests airspace defenses around the island and whose government has kept Taiwan shut out of organizations like the World Health Organization.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly criticizes U.S. gun control policy, including on Monday in response to questions at a regular press conference about the shooting in Buffalo.
“One cannot help but wonder: Why are more and more Americans buying, carrying and using guns?” asked Ministry spokesman
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Zhao Lijian at Monday’s press conference in Beijing.
Mr. Zhao went on to cite industry statistics that showed a 43% increase in gun purchases by ethnic Asians in the U.S. during 2020 and added, “Is the prevalence of gun violence in the U.S. related to the rising sense of insecurity caused by racial discrimination among minorities?”
China’s government condemns violence and expresses condolences for the victims, according to a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu. Mr. Liu said, “We hope that relevant parties will not make speculation before the final investigation result is announced.”
The shooting suspect had entered the church during the banquet, chained the doors shut and tried to disable its locks, authorities said, while adding that he also placed four Molotov cocktail-like devices inside the church.
Roughly 50 people were at the lunch, the sheriff said. Two handguns were found at the scene. Authorities also located several bags inside the church holding additional ammunition, Sheriff Barnes said.
The suspect had two 9mm semiautomatic pistols, both of which were purchased legally in Nevada in 2015 and 2017, authorities said.
Mr. Chou traveled by himself to Laguna Woods, officials said, adding that he wasn’t a regular member of Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church.
Write to Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com and James T. Areddy at James.Areddy@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The suspected gunman in a church shooting in Laguna Woods, Calif., on May 15 is a Taiwan-born U.S. citizen. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he was born in China. (Corrected on May 17)